Can we all agree RunningLane was a joke now?

If running lane was accurate, we would see an insane amount of depth we've never seen before at the top level of indoor track in the mile and 3k. This is just not happening. It won't happen either.

For example, looked through the running lane top results so I could find a kid that is from an area where they race indoors. First one I found, Jackson Barna. Has run only 4:17 and 9:22 for 16 and 32 this indoor season. He ran 14:22 at running lane. Any other year that would be one of if not the fastest XC times in the nation, year in, year out.

No disrespect to Jackson, but he will probably be in the 4:08-4:10 1600 and 8:55ish range for 3200. Really good yes, but not best in the nation year in, year out, good.

Vinny wrote:

For example, looked through the running lane top results so I could find a kid that is from an area where they race indoors. First one I found, Jackson Barna. Has run only 4:17 and 9:22 for 16 and 32 this indoor season. He ran 14:22 at running lane. Any other year that would be one of if not the fastest XC times in the nation, year in, year out.

No disrespect to Jackson, but he will probably be in the 4:08-4:10 1600 and 8:55ish range for 3200. Really good yes, but not best in the nation year in, year out, good.

That was the original point of the thread. It wasn’t intended to be about how great or not the coach at NP is, which what every thread seems to gravitate towards.

Every record is going down and there will be multiple sub 4 minute guys this year. It used to take sub 4 to qualify for the NCAA meet but it looks like it may take 3:57 this year. Guys are getting faster.

jijiji wrote:

Not sure how this became an NP issue

However, top RL guys have indeed not really done well in the past month

3200m times:

Hough (RL 5th) 14:10. - 9:17

Martin (RL 11th 14:24 - 9:01

Marek (RL 38th) 14:43 - 9:00

Appleford (RL 42nd) 14:44 - 9:00

Martinez (RL 56th) 14:52 - 9:13

Side note: Sherry, who was 3rd at Eastbay, 6s behind Hough, did however run 8:47 this weekend.

So yes, none of these performances are spectacular.

But a 9:03 for two miles is worth 14:30 on the track. So Marek, Appleford and Martinez’s performance make a little bit of sense. It does however seem that RL was running faster than last year.

Perspective:

The 42nd guy at RL has already run 9:00 for 3200m in January

In 2016: US#10 ran 9:03 indoor for 2miles

In 2017: US#7 ran 9:04 indoor for 2miles

In 2018: US#4 ran 9:06 indoor for 2miles

In 2019: US#7 ran 9:03 indoor for 2miles

In 2020: US#6 ran 9:03 indoor for 2 miles

A guy that probably would not have been top 5 at RL has already run 8:50 for 2 miles this indoor season.

Can we see 20 or 30 guys run sub 9 for 2miles this winter? Unlikely, but perhaps…

Mussmon, who was 211th at RL (15:27) has run 9:13 for 2miles this winter.

Wow.

ritzwithsahlmanontop wrote:

To summarize, Nico has improved, Ascbrenner has stayed the same and the rest got worse.

Little update:

Nico: 3:54.0 (converted) and 3:56.0 (no conversion)

Aschbrenner 7:56.8 (converted)

versy tile wrote:

Every record is going down and there will be multiple sub 4 minute guys this year. It used to take sub 4 to qualify for the NCAA meet but it looks like it may take 3:57 this year. Guys are getting faster.

NCAA is a completely different story. The extra Covid year means guys like Olin hacker (3:56) are still competing, as a 7th year. Plenty of the top times are coming from 6th years who wouldn’t otherwise be competing

Twenty NCAA guys were breaking 4 just a few years ago. There will be 35 non-Covid guys doing it this year.

willolsen wrote:

It’s a full 5k. It’s just super easy, they had nasa developed the fastest course possible. Not even joking the race director said that. The trims are very smooth, grass is very short, dirt is compacted, and no little elevation gain with a downhill last k. But a full 5k

The other thread had good evidence that it was short.

Except for the fact that it is accurate.

Renewed Marathoner wrote:

Actually, no.

I think some people in this thread should actually listen to his interview. This is not what he said. You're just putting your own opinion in.

He was referring to not overtraining his kids, not running 90 mpw for example. But doing all the little things right like getting enough rest, which should help prepare them for a college running environment.

This is just a small snippet.

Debating/saying the goals of a coach is that is contrary to what the coach literally just said at a decent length in an interview is stupid.

To expand on the point, I note that many comments suggest that preparing them for college simply means getting them to run as fast as possible to get scholarships. This is close but not quite correct. Preparing them for college also includes keeping them healthy, monitoring their academic progress, and most importantly, teaching them how to be successful athletes. If a coach merely tells the athletes what to do (the old meme that coaches just give out workouts) the athletes can still run fast, but they don't gain the tools they need to succeed long-term.

In short, some coaches just coach. Great coaches teach.

That sounds like something you heard at a coaching seminar. Keeping them healthy is how you get them to run their best so that point is meaningless. Teaching them how to be successful athletes means running as fast as they can because that is how we define success in track. And many schools do not allow coaches to have any involvement in athletes' academics.

The bottom line is that a high school coach's job is to get kids to run as fast as possible.

versy tile wrote:

That sounds like something you heard at a coaching seminar. Keeping them healthy is how you get them to run their best so that point is meaningless. Teaching them how to be successful athletes means running as fast as they can because that is how we define success in track. And many schools do not allow coaches to have any involvement in athletes' academics.

The bottom line is that a high school coach's job is to get kids to run as fast as possible.

Wow. Five sentences and every single one of them is clueless and wrong. At least you're consistent.

So NP is doing everything wrong? Good to know. I will expect him to be fired.

everyone's dad wrote:

So NP is doing everything wrong? Good to know. I will expect him to be fired.

It’s more likely than you think. See James O’Brien at Arcadia and Doug Soles at Great Oak.

Focusing obsessively on winning at any cost isn’t unilaterally agreed upon as the mission at most high schools.

Didn't Doug Soles quit?

Yes. He got sick of the new generation of parents. The people who don't think that the best coaches are the ones with the winningest teams are not winners. They think because they are a nice guy and the mom's bake them Christmas cookies, that they are better than NP.

coachy wrote:

Didn't Doug Soles quit?

Preemptively