I think the majority would agree that it is best to celebrate these great runners and not make silly comparisons. I also think we can almost all agree we would rather have Rono’s summer of 1978 than anything the still young Nico has done.
You can't even get the facts right. - Rono has a faster 3k time straight up. Rono has faster NCAA cross country times straight up. Rono has more NCAA championships straight up. Rono has more NCAA records straight up. Rono has world records straight up.
You're just wrong.
Do you even know what the context of the thread is??? Guess who has the collegiate record in the 5k and the 10k...
Nico is a better runner and guess what, in the next decade they'll be 15 collegiate runners that are better than him, and then they'll be 100 runners better than him in 40 years. It's a cycle, get over it, stop crying because your hero has been surpassed, that's how life works.
Or maybe keep writing fanfiction, keep lying to yourself, instead of learning and growing as a person, it'd probably be best to just wait and die. Everyone is getting slower, dumber, and weaker after all. What a wonderful life you're living, nobody will ever outdo what Henry Rono ran in 1978, nothing will ever surpass that, I'm sure you have so much to look forward too.
You can't even get the facts right. - Rono has a faster 3k time straight up. Rono has faster NCAA cross country times straight up. Rono has more NCAA championships straight up. Rono has more NCAA records straight up. Rono has world records straight up.
You're just wrong.
Do you even know what the context of the thread is??? Guess who has the collegiate record in the 5k and the 10k...
Nico is a better runner and guess what, in the next decade they'll be 15 collegiate runners that are better than him, and then they'll be 100 runners better than him in 40 years. It's a cycle, get over it, stop crying because your hero has been surpassed, that's how life works.
Or maybe keep writing fanfiction, keep lying to yourself, instead of learning and growing as a person, it'd probably be best to just wait and die. Everyone is getting slower, dumber, and weaker after all. What a wonderful life you're living, nobody will ever outdo what Henry Rono ran in 1978, nothing will ever surpass that, I'm sure you have so much to look forward too.
Explain how Nico is better? What. Makes him better?
He’s not better in the 3k. He’s not better in cross country.
You can't even get the facts right. - Rono has a faster 3k time straight up. Rono has faster NCAA cross country times straight up. Rono has more NCAA championships straight up. Rono has more NCAA records straight up. Rono has world records straight up.
You're just wrong.
Do you even know what the context of the thread is??? Guess who has the collegiate record in the 5k and the 10k...
Nico is a better runner and guess what, in the next decade they'll be 15 collegiate runners that are better than him, and then they'll be 100 runners better than him in 40 years. It's a cycle, get over it, stop crying because your hero has been surpassed, that's how life works.
Or maybe keep writing fanfiction, keep lying to yourself, instead of learning and growing as a person, it'd probably be best to just wait and die. Everyone is getting slower, dumber, and weaker after all. What a wonderful life you're living, nobody will ever outdo what Henry Rono ran in 1978, nothing will ever surpass that, I'm sure you have so much to look forward too.
dude, you are a dick, plain and simple.
Nico has run faster, he is not a better runner than Rono. Times have been made irrelevant thanks to the shoes.
If what you say is true, then Solinsky, Fischer, Tuntivate, etc. are all better than Rono.
I think you've got some issues in life that aren't about Rono or Young that you're responding to. Of course it's possible that in the last 40 years who was better than Henry. There's just no indication that anyone has. If in five years there's a race where 10 twenty one year olds break 13 most of us will think there's some sort of technological improvement responsible for most those performances. The objective is to win or place well in races. Obviously getting faster is a way to do that. In 50 years if there are collegiate athlletes running faster than today's world records most of us will largely ignore it and not let it interfere with our rates of decomposition.
You can't even get the facts right. - Rono has a faster 3k time straight up. Rono has faster NCAA cross country times straight up. Rono has more NCAA championships straight up. Rono has more NCAA records straight up. Rono has world records straight up.
You're just wrong.
Do you even know what the context of the thread is??? Guess who has the collegiate record in the 5k and the 10k...
Nico is a better runner and guess what, in the next decade they'll be 15 collegiate runners that are better than him, and then they'll be 100 runners better than him in 40 years. It's a cycle, get over it, stop crying because your hero has been surpassed, that's how life works.
Or maybe keep writing fanfiction, keep lying to yourself, instead of learning and growing as a person, it'd probably be best to just wait and die. Everyone is getting slower, dumber, and weaker after all. What a wonderful life you're living, nobody will ever outdo what Henry Rono ran in 1978, nothing will ever surpass that, I'm sure you have so much to look forward too.
What would be cool is to see all the current talent ditch the shoes for one 10000/5000m and run in older shoes. Not talking shoes from the 70s, 80s, or even 90s. Talking about spikes from 2018 - just 6 years ago. Have them all run a 10000m in good ol’ 2018 spikes an no one breaks 27:20 or 13:00. Prove us all wrong. One race w/o cheat shoes.
Be hilarious to watch them all finish gassed, wondering why they all had bad races. Fact of the matter is there isn’t a single runner out there that would show up with out the latest cheat shoe tech because they know they’re already at a huge disadvantage.
What would be cool is to see all the current talent ditch the shoes for one 10000/5000m and run in older shoes. Not talking shoes from the 70s, 80s, or even 90s. Talking about spikes from 2018 - just 6 years ago. Have them all run a 10000m in good ol’ 2018 spikes an no one breaks 27:20 or 13:00. Prove us all wrong. One race w/o cheat shoes.
Be hilarious to watch them all finish gassed, wondering why they all had bad races. Fact of the matter is there isn’t a single runner out there that would show up with out the latest cheat shoe tech because they know they’re already at a huge disadvantage.
So you gonna keep ignoring Jacob Kiplimo's 26:33 in non super spikes? Get over yourself buddy
You don't understand that your argument is solely based on an unfounded belief that Henry Rono is the equivalent of Jesus. Apparently, a shoe and a marginally faster track surface will make him 30+ seconds better at the 10k.
Yes, Nico has better shoes, a better track, and better training. That's why he's so much better...
Maybe Henry Rono might've run 12:20 if he was competing in the NCAA today, but guess what... HE'S NOT. You're arguing a hypothetical situation to me, it's no different than me arguing that LeBron would break 12:00 flat because he has more aura than Henry Rono.
Remember now, LeBron is faster than your favorite runner. If you give LeBron wave lights, super shoes, and proper training, he'd win everything. I know this because he has more aura than your favorite runner.
I think that the assumption that everyone is making is that you cannot compare times across generations. Which is completely fair.
So throw out times and compare them based on their accomplishments. If you do that you will see that Rono is a much better runner.
Rono - 10 NCAA record, 4 world records. 3 NCAA cross country titles
Nico Young - 2 NCAA records, 0 world records, 0 NCAA cross country titles
Rono still has the fastest NCAA Cross Country time ever.
It's not even close.
Remember that when Rono set those record times he won those races, unlike Young who did not win the races he set his records in.
Also Young set his records in what were essentially fabricated paced time trial type races where the goal was to run a fast time. To be fair Rono's records were also set in time trial type races, but these were in average competitions where he made them time trials as he was so far ahead of everyone else it was just him running alone against the clock.
I wasn't taking aim at Rono. I was just pointing out that I think Young could run a 27:30 because even in old shoes and on an old-style track, he would train well and show up at the ideal race weight (unlike Rono).
So while Rono is the better, more talented runner, Nico Young is also amazing and would be a very fast 27:30 runner under old conditions. He would not be a sub-27 runner because nobody was.
What would be cool is to see all the current talent ditch the shoes for one 10000/5000m and run in older shoes. Not talking shoes from the 70s, 80s, or even 90s. Talking about spikes from 2018 - just 6 years ago. Have them all run a 10000m in good ol’ 2018 spikes an no one breaks 27:20 or 13:00. Prove us all wrong. One race w/o cheat shoes.
Be hilarious to watch them all finish gassed, wondering why they all had bad races. Fact of the matter is there isn’t a single runner out there that would show up with out the latest cheat shoe tech because they know they’re already at a huge disadvantage.
So you gonna keep ignoring Jacob Kiplimo's 26:33 in non super spikes? Get over yourself buddy
Kiplimo ran that in ‘21 in cheat spikes. Even still, don’t care what Kiplimo ran. Want to prove that you’re a 26:52 runner - run 26:52 in 2018 spikes. Peak tech just 6 years ago. I’m not the one saying that Young is better that Rono.
Who the f*ck cares? I love watching great runners. I ran against (well behind) Rono back in the day. Well, we're not back in the day are we. Each era of track has its advancing advantages. Tracks - Dirt tracks, cinder tracks, tartan tracks, mondo tracks; Shoes - Spikes that were screwed onto metal plates, spikes with some padding, spikes with heels, spikehes with carbon plates; Training - sprints only, mileage only, hills and mileage, intervals, intervals and mileage, Threshold runs and intervals, Double threshold runs. Nutrition - Rod Dixon quote: 'Run like an animal, drink lots of beer.' Now - dietary consultants measuring every thing that an elite athlete consumes. You get my drift.
BTW, Henry in this thread. Because he lead from the front in almost every race, not just his world records. The man was on another planet compared the the rest of his competitors. That just doesn't happen today.
BTW, I'm a big Nico fan. Great to see him not only run so fast, but competing for the win.
What would be cool is to see all the current talent ditch the shoes for one 10000/5000m and run in older shoes. Not talking shoes from the 70s, 80s, or even 90s. Talking about spikes from 2018 - just 6 years ago. Have them all run a 10000m in good ol’ 2018 spikes an no one breaks 27:20 or 13:00. Prove us all wrong. One race w/o cheat shoes.
Be hilarious to watch them all finish gassed, wondering why they all had bad races. Fact of the matter is there isn’t a single runner out there that would show up with out the latest cheat shoe tech because they know they’re already at a huge disadvantage.
So you gonna keep ignoring Jacob Kiplimo's 26:33 in non super spikes? Get over yourself buddy
You can't even get the facts right. - Rono has a faster 3k time straight up. Rono has faster NCAA cross country times straight up. Rono has more NCAA championships straight up. Rono has more NCAA records straight up. Rono has world records straight up.
You're just wrong.
Do you even know what the context of the thread is??? Guess who has the collegiate record in the 5k and the 10k...
Nico is a better runner and guess what, in the next decade they'll be 15 collegiate runners that are better than him, and then they'll be 100 runners better than him in 40 years. It's a cycle, get over it, stop crying because your hero has been surpassed, that's how life works.
Or maybe keep writing fanfiction, keep lying to yourself, instead of learning and growing as a person, it'd probably be best to just wait and die. Everyone is getting slower, dumber, and weaker after all. What a wonderful life you're living, nobody will ever outdo what Henry Rono ran in 1978, nothing will ever surpass that, I'm sure you have so much to look forward too.
OK boy, hers's another one for you.
Monson holds the women's 5k and 10k records, Lynn Jennings is not even top 10 in either.
By your logic Monson is better than Lynn Jennings. I say not even close, Lynn was much better.
So what you’re saying is: context matters when making comparisons. I completely agree. It’s not fair to compare their accomplishments at age 21 because of their very different circumstances. Likewise, it’s not fair to compare the accomplishments of a fully grown and in his prime man who was 26 to those of a still developing young man who is only 21.
Yes context matters, but Young is not a developing young runner, he looks like he's a 27 years old grown man.. If you want to compare me to Rono, that's fair, because when I was 22 I didn't look a day over my 17th birthday.
Put Young in a pair of Nike Vainqueurs then come back to me. Those were the worst spikes ever made. Thats what Henry wore. When Rono joined the Kenyan Army he was given his first pair of shoes -- not running shoes, they were the first real shoes he ever owned, so Vainqueurs must have been heavenly, relatively speaking.
Back in day I told Geoff Hollister that he needs to take adidas spiders and sew a swoosh on them. He said that Vainqueurs worked fine for Henry. My response was that Henry is not human, then held out a pair of Vainqueurs, and bent them. "See that, the human foot doesn't bend there does it?"
The real difference between the two is that Young is a programmed automaton. Rono was pure exuberance.Bliss in motion.. To watch him run was an experience of joy that mesmerized everyone. To this day I've never seen a runner like him. Is that the experience that Young gives you? They are completely different runners in different eras.
Rono in 2024 or Young in 1978? I think you know the answer.
There's your context.
So, basically, your argument is based on your perception of their appearance and your speculation on how they would each fare if they swapped eras. You think that Nico is not a developing young runner even though he’s only 21. And you think Rono was better because you were mesmerized by his running form.
Sorry, arguments based on looks don’t sway me. Running isn’t a beauty contest. And speculation on how they would do in different eras doesn’t prove anything.
I base my opinions on facts, not looks or speculation. The fact is Nico is just 21. The fact is most American distance runners don’t reach their peak at that age. It would be appropriate to see how Nico does over the next 5 years before comparing him to Rono.
He has better times across the border. Would you agree he is/was better than Rono?
What's up with all the DOWN arrows? I believe the OP asked "who is the better runner", and it looks as though this was referencing times. The beauty of running is that it's objective, no what if's, could of, would of, etc... You simply look at a time, the FASTEST time gives a clear and concise answer. That being said, Henry was a legendary runner (Better) due to his amazing range which included the 3000sc, 3000m, 5000m, and 10,000m, and the fact that he held multiple world records at the same time. Nico has some serious ground to cover before anyone can consider him "Better" than Henry, but he is "Faster" over the 5000m and 10,000m.
If in five years there's a race where 10 twenty one year olds break 13 most of us will think there's some sort of technological improvement responsible for most those performances.
This is your entire argument in summation.
If anyone runs faster than Rono (even if you're 30 seconds faster) it's because of technology.
If anyone ever runs better than someone I like 😡 then they're times are fake.
In your mind, nobody can be better than him. Nobody has a chance. Okay fine you can have that opinion. but...
WHY ARE WATCHING THE SPORT? Why do you follow track if nobody can ever outdo Rono? Why don't you just watch his videos on YouTube on repeat? What's the point?
Why even try if you can never beat Henry Rono?
You're an idiot bro, you don't understand track and you don't care about the athletes. Nico Young has been running for a decade, getting better ever single day, going to altitude camps, running through tendinitis, dying 2 times every week on the track, doing double thresholds, running tempos faster than Rono's half marathon PR, but it's all for nothing because no matter how fast he runs it will never count. The shoes are unfair, the track is too bouncy, wait you didn't solo time trial Nico, sorry doesn't count?? Oh wow Nico, congrats on the collegiate record, but you can never actually be better than this athlete I like 😹😹.
Nico has run faster, he is not a better runner than Rono. Times have been made irrelevant thanks to the shoes.
If what you say is true, then Solinsky, Fischer, Tuntivate, etc. are all better than Rono.
If you think that Henry Rono is a better runner than Grant Fischer you are delusional. His 10k PR is 50 seconds faster 😂
Grant Fischer 3k PR is at a faster pace than Rono's mile PR.
You're so biased it's incredible. This comment section is full of old failures that will cling on to lies to make themselves feel better about how embarrassingly slow they were.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
Reason provided:
Use your brain please
Nico has run faster, he is not a better runner than Rono. Times have been made irrelevant thanks to the shoes.
If what you say is true, then Solinsky, Fischer, Tuntivate, etc. are all better than Rono.
If you think that Henry Rono is a better runner than Grant Fischer you are delusional. His 10k PR is 50 seconds faster 😂
Grant Fischer 3k PR is at a faster pace than Rono's mile PR.
You're so biased it's incredible. This comment section is full of old failures that will cling on to lies to make themselves feel better about how embarrassingly slow they were.
guarantee i ran faster than you (without super shoes)
If in five years there's a race where 10 twenty one year olds break 13 most of us will think there's some sort of technological improvement responsible for most those performances.
This is your entire argument in summation.
If anyone runs faster than Rono (even if you're 30 seconds faster) it's because of technology.
If anyone ever runs better than someone I like 😡 then they're times are fake.
In your mind, nobody can be better than him. Nobody has a chance. Okay fine you can have that opinion. but...
WHY ARE WATCHING THE SPORT? Why do you follow track if nobody can ever outdo Rono? Why don't you just watch his videos on YouTube on repeat? What's the point?
Why even try if you can never beat Henry Rono?
You're an idiot bro, you don't understand track and you don't care about the athletes. Nico Young has been running for a decade, getting better ever single day, going to altitude camps, running through tendinitis, dying 2 times every week on the track, doing double thresholds, running tempos faster than Rono's half marathon PR, but it's all for nothing because no matter how fast he runs it will never count. The shoes are unfair, the track is too bouncy, wait you didn't solo time trial Nico, sorry doesn't count?? Oh wow Nico, congrats on the collegiate record, but you can never actually be better than this athlete I like 😹😹.
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.