Who you got on having a better professional career - Parker Valby or Katelyn Tuohy?

True. I do not like cheating. Especially when it is obvious.

How does me being skeptical that any American woman can be "relevant" in a world where 3:50, 14:00, 29:00, and 2:10 are the new benchmarks of elite performance? I would say I am the opposite of naive. Unless, of course, you think the Americans are doped as well and are just still much slower... Yes, I am naive in that way. I don't think Valby and Tuohy are doping.

But to your second point, I am not a misogynist. I think it is better to be an ethical 14:45 runner than doped up 14:00 runner. Women must make the same hard ethical choices men make - dope or don't dope. I think our NCAA women are likely making the right choices.

i feel like OP was being disingenuous to begin with but i found this statement curious

how many times has Tuohy been counted out and come back to prove her doubters wrong?

like once, right? she got hurt, people jumped to conclusions that she was done, but then she healed up and was back on track and better than ever

anyway, her only real shot at success is in the marathon

she doesn't have the speed to compete at anything shorter than that

Valby should move up sooner rather than later as well, it's where all the glory is

She was never counted out. But her best performance will probably be 2 years old before she races again. And a 16 year old girl ran about as fast as her this year. That isn't counting her out. Those are just the sad facts that she isn't keeping up. Running 15:00 is nothing these days.

Prove it.

I would give nod to Valby. I was never a big fan of Tuohy. Always thought Tuohy was a poor finisher with a big loping stride. In any case neither will have an impact on the world stage ever.

The USA produces about 1 runner every year or so that has any real chance competing against the worlds best. If you only look at 5000m and up that number drops well below 1 runner per year produced by a country of 350,000,000 people with every training advantage.

American marathon in particular is populated by second tier runners. Although some of the times have improved when taking away the shoe technology we are actually going backwards in performance.

Joan Samuelson is still on the top 10 All-time American women marathoners (2:21) and she ran it 40 years ago.

Back to the topic. Valby has been to the Olympics. She has a better career. Tuohy won't hit that benchmark.

Valby since she can compete in the 10K and get on teams that way. The 5K for Tuohy is way more competitive and you basically need to be in an American record shape to make a team.

This is like asking which of your college classmates will have the most successful career. Impossible to predict the future.

What??

Valby is an Olympian. It is likely that Tuohy will never reach Valby's achievement during her entire career.

Your analogy of classmates would be having a classmate earning $250K a year out of college at a hedge fund while the other is earning $60K somewhere and you say you can't predict which will be more successful.

Probably Valby, but, as other have said, they are both overshadowed by East African women. I believe both Valby and Tuohy have serious genetic talent. That is a fact.

Imagine, if you will, both of them born dirt-poor in a small village in Kenya. First, odds-are, they’d both have died as children. Next, they’d go hungry for long periods of time. They’d have smaller bones, not grow as tall, and they’d be seen and treated as third rate human beings. They’d grow up in a patriarchal society where women are abused and killed by their husbands at a disturbingly high rate.

But, maybe they’d dream of becoming like their heroes. The only way to escape abject poverty and have ANY value as human beings is to run.

Because they are women, yes, they’d be used as pawns and the whims of men intent on using them to make money or gain status. And yes, that may indeed be doping for some, but not for all. Because it is known the testing program is so poorly managed.

And maybe, because of their genetics and growing up in that awful place, in that crucible, they’d be world-beaters too.

I’m asking that folks educate themselves about the world these African women come from. Here’s an article that may help a bit.

elle.com

For Kenya’s Women Runners, the Road to Greatness Can Be Deadly

This summer, the world will watch East African women dominate track and field at the Paris Olympics. What you won’t see are all the dangerous roadblocks and many hurdles they navigate in order to chase their dreams.

Open link

Yes.

But....

Pro running is WAY different than collegiate running. Now that Parker is with one of the best female racing clubs in the world with one of the best coaches in the world she has an advantage. My only concern is if she can withstand the year around training physically. We all know she has a unique training routine that worked in college. Can it work as a pro? The training and racing demands are much higher over a longer period of time. Is she going to be able be a consistent participating member of the club? or is she going to be tucked away at the New Balance facility cross training by herself? I think one of the strengths of the NB club is how tight and connected they are as a group. Now more than ever Parker needs the support and team culture of the NB club to ease the transition of living and training in a new environment. If she can't train with the team on consistent basis, she may feel separated and disconnected. Coogan has his hands full, and don't forget Parker's dad who is going to be very active and will be watching every move she makes. If she begins to struggle things could get ugly really quick.

I'm a fan of both Parker and Coogan and hope it works for Team NB.

Hotter wins...sorry....deal with it...

oof, that puts some perspective on it

Tuohy was training like a pro while doing supplements like a pro. Hundreds of girls could match her achievements.

I got them both having great careers. How's that? Why the negativity?