Flagpole wrote:
The reason is simple...runners like to believe that they achieved whatever success they have MOSTLY because of the hard work they put in. They don't like to believe that they were given a head start with genetics.
The OP goes to the question of HOW runners -- or people generally -- value what they do. Part of it has to do with recognizing the consequences of choices that we make. We choose to go to this school instead of that one, choose that partner instead of another, this career instead of the other, etc. We're all in the process of "choosing the road less taken." The recognizing that the choices are real gives weight/meaning to life.
In running, choices seem straight forward -- we have one coach instead of another, or use this training plan instead of that one, we eat these foods instead of those others, etc. And with running, you see pretty clear results. We know that if we DIDN'T make those choices, results would suffer greatly. I know, for instance, that if I didn't choose a "training lifestyle," I could easily be 30 pounds heavier than I am today. Even now, I might not know what my true potential is, but I DO know that I could be a lot slower!
You could do a thought experiment -- pick 1000 healthy 14 year old boys and girls, and put them in a private school where along with compulsory education and a controlled diet, they are all made to run 30 to 40 miles a week. What percentage would eventually break 20 minutes in the 5k? Who knows, but I'd guess the percentage is a lot higher than if you took those same kids out of normal American High Schools as 17 or 18 year-olds and made them run a 5k today.
The point isn't whether other people could have made choices that would have enabled them to run fast. They didn't. They made OTHER choices. Certainly, genetics make a difference (in fact, genetics could well play a roll in the choices we make, not just in determining VO2 max). The point is to value the choices that you DO make.