What are some of the biggest misconceptions or cliches that high schoolers and College runners have?

dontflushwhileyousit wrote:

You can't possibly think that everyone in the world is capable of running a 12:37 5K given the right training.

No, we all have an ideal distance to race. But Mr. Bekele does not have superior speed to most well trained young distance runners despite what people claim on these boards. What he has/had was an amazingly well trained capacity for speed endurance.

This guy is a troll no doubt.

But keep training bro, despite being 120 pounds your NFL dreams can become a reality! Best of luck!!!

Distance runner pull a lot of tail.

Many people think (skinny) guys don't...I don't know if it's the fact they are always out drinking around drunk girls or what?

only as good as your training wrote:

dontflushwhileyousit wrote:

You can't possibly think that everyone in the world is capable of running a 12:37 5K given the right training.

No, we all have an ideal distance to race. But Mr. Bekele does not have superior speed to most well trained young distance runners despite what people claim on these boards. What he has/had was an amazingly well trained capacity for speed endurance.

Haha this one put you in guaranteed troll territory.

you can party & drink hard and achieve your optimum performance at the same time. not saying you can't run well, but you can't be doing both and reach your full potential.

Running talent is almost wholly genetically based when comparing between peer groups.

For instance. It would be rare to find a 5000m runner who's pr is 13:30 or better who didn't have a VO2max of 75 ml/kg/min. Conversely, it would be rare to find a 5000m runner who's pr is 17 minutes who has a VO2 even approaching 75 ml/kg/min.

The idea that "training" can change that would be like insisting that a 6 foot tall man could become 7 foot tall by simply stretching himself.

Bekele possesses genetic physiological disposition for distance running that is an outlier in V02 max and or running economy or ability to sustain high workloads without onset of Plasma lactate accumulation (probably all three variables) that are similar to a 7 foot tall man concerning the genetics involved in height.

It's like some people don't even understand the concept of genetics. What do you think your genes determine? Your physical appearance, and that's all?

Genes are no excuse for losing to someone, but to deny their effect on performance is ridiculous. You'll just have to work harder than those that have an advantage over you.

paul wallowski wrote:

Dirty As Hell wrote:

That the majority of World/national class runners are clean. 99% of them are on something and most are dirty as hell.

blah blah blah. you suck so you have to disparage those that don't.

we get it. you suck. don't have to showcase it any more with drivel like the above.

Yes because how good I am has anything to do with my perception that most of the world's top athletes are cheating. I could take every performance enhancing drug known to man and would still be no where near World class. So what? That has nothing to do with the fact that Salazar's guys, probably most of Schumacher's, and most of the top Kenyans and Ethiopians are at the very LEAST doing things that are in the grey area of legality.

If I was actually good it would piss me off more, not less, since I'd actually be getting cheated out of things (prize money, spots on national teams, medals, sponsorship, etc) by those who were doping. But since anyone that good would crush me with or without drugs I don't give two shits from a personal perspective.

That the colleges have any interest in their long term development as a runner

That it doesn't have to hurt

Trolling LRC ad nauseum automatically makes you a better, more legitimate runner.

Mr Mitochondria wrote:

Running talent is almost wholly genetically based when comparing between peer groups.

For instance. It would be rare to find a 5000m runner who's pr is 13:30 or better who didn't have a VO2max of 75 ml/kg/min. Conversely, it would be rare to find a 5000m runner who's pr is 17 minutes who has a VO2 even approaching 75 ml/kg/min.

The idea that "training" can change that would be like insisting that a 6 foot tall man could become 7 foot tall by simply stretching himself.

Bekele possesses genetic physiological disposition for distance running that is an outlier in V02 max and or running economy or ability to sustain high workloads without onset of Plasma lactate accumulation (probably all three variables) that are similar to a 7 foot tall man concerning the genetics involved in height.

That is not at all like saying a 6 ft tall person could become 7 ft tall if they simply stretched. Not even close. Vo2max has been shown to improve significantly with training. Stretching has never proven to significantly improve height as far as I know.

And your first part about vo2 and times is also wrong. I bet Lance has a high vo2, but his current running times suck.

Your claims are unsubstantiated.

The Animal Within wrote:

This guy is a troll no doubt.

But keep training bro, despite being 120 pounds your NFL dreams can become a reality! Best of luck!!!

I think you're the troll. You aren't limited to weighing any particular weight. Calories in, calories out. And no NFL players were born at their weights. NFL players are the size they because of diet and weight lifting.

goku wrote:

It's like some people don't even understand the concept of genetics. What do you think your genes determine? Your physical appearance, and that's all?

Genes are no excuse for losing to someone, but to deny their effect on performance is ridiculous. You'll just have to work harder than those that have an advantage over you.

It's like some people don't understand science and rational thinking. There has been no evidence that genetics are a limiting factor for running performance between people. On the contrary, many of the alleged variables involved in running performance are completely trainable (fiber type, vo2max, etc).

So, to believe that they are so limiting (belief enough to cause you to ridicule nonbelievers) without any evidence is what is really ridiculous. You sound like a religious extremist.

I was fast in high school so will be fast in college, too.

This talent vs.hard work argument is idiotic. Obviously there is talent/genetics involved in distance running just like there is in any other sport. I don't believe anyone on here is saying that talent alone will get you anywhere and that hard work is useless. A kid with no talent can work his butt off and become a pretty good runner but he will never become a Division 1 all american or a professional runner. I'm not saying that talent alone will get you anywhere because it won't but it will help. Hard work will usually beat talent when talent doesn't work hard and a runner with superior talent/genetics won't ever become a great runner without an excellent work ethic/ training program. There are multiple pieces to the puzzle but unfortunately talent/genetics is one of those pieces.

To say there is no talent/genetic advantage in distance running is like saying there is no talent/genetic advantage in basketball. I will never be able to jump as high as Lebron James. I can work on it for the rest of my life, lift a ton of weights, have the perfect training regime but I will never ever be able to get my vertical jump even close to 40 inches. I will also never be able to run under 45 seconds in a 400m no matter how hard I work at it. I will also never be able to break 13 minutes in the 5k or 2:10 in the marathon ain't going to happen and I am okay with this. Can I work hard and improve my vertical jump/400m/5k/marathon time? Of course I can and I can probably become pretty decent in any category if I work really hard but I will never be able to reach certain points. Hard work/ training program will only take you so far, they can take you really far, but without talent you will never be able to be the best. I'm sorry if I ruined anyone's dreams.

There is nothing OBVIOUS that says genetics matter in sports. How do you know you'll never be able to jump as high as Lebron James? That claim is founded on absolutely nothing but negativity. Give me a good, rational reason why you can't. Or give me evidence that genetic limitations exist in running.

Your genetics determine the ratio of slow twitch fibers to fast twitch fibers in your muscles. You can train to help this but I will never be able to develop the muscles capable of jumping 40 inches. I am 5'11" 140lbs and probably have a ratio of fast twitch fibers to slow twitch fibers that would not be advantageous to jumping high. It is the same reason why I can't put on 50 pounds of muscle. My muscles aren't built that way, but I can take Lebron to town in a 5k because his muscles are built for explosiveness not endurance.

Your argument would suggest that if Tyson Gay started with distance running instead of sprinting and spent all the time he did with sprinting, in distance running instead he would have been the one getting the silver medal in the 10k this past summer not Galen Rupp. And if Rupp started with sprinting and dedicated all the time to sprinting instead of distance running he would be breaking 9.8 in the 100m right now.

It is obvious just look at the body type.s Rupp could never look like Tyson Gay and Gay could never look like Rupp, their muscles are built a certain way because of genetics.

Gay would be just as skinny as Rupp if he, like Rupp , had never lifted weights in his life.

Fiber types and ratios are entirely trainable. So they have nothing to do with you not being able to jump as high as Lebron James.