The #1 factor determining your running ability is....

More like 150 since we don't want to mix men and woman. Sounds roughly right. If you think about the last 75 years or so there have been a a dozen or so top level american milers. The rest of the 150 are the people that never did track. Or started running and quit because they didn't want to do the work. Or never hooked up with a good coach ( they ran 15 miles a week in HS and were happy running 4:30)

eurodonkey wrote:

quenton wrote:

The Truth is .... the Jim Ryun had more natural GENETIC ability

vis a vis Running ... then 999,999 out of a million Americans,

Kenyans, Brits or Russians

Meaning, I presume, that there were 60 Brits and 300 Americans with more talent than him? Is that what you intended to say?

XY wrote:

You will not become a world class runner. Go ahead train harder and smarter than Web and post back here in three years. Let us know how far under 4 you are

Haha the last thing I will do when I reach world-class status is sign on to LetsRun.com and report back to you LMAO I'd rather leave you with this; while you're busy thinking of your next comeback, the next generation of elite runners and I are training smarter and harder than ever, and you will not beat us.

;)

potential to bench wrote:

Could all of you bench press 225 lb if you train hard enough?

Sure, I did last year. I weighed 185. Now I weigh 150. I'm sure I could put about 180 once or twice right now. Should be enough to kick the crap out of any Kenyan marathoner, no? If only they combined distance running with ultimate fighting. Wait a minute, I think I'm onto something here...

Genes wrote:

Since Male WR's are faster than Female WR's does that mean that men train harder than women, or have better coaching.

How can you say that it is all in training and coaching? Of course there are some traits that you are born with that give you the opportunity to reach a certain goal.

cabana wrote:

Last time I checked, there were enough races to suit runners with different characteristics, so your bench press analogy is way off the mark.

Of course there arre some traits thaat you are born with that give you the opportunity to reach a certain goal.

So what you have to do is to learn how to use them.

It is my contention, that coaches don't know how to develop talent. Traditional training techniques develop cardiovascular conditioning, but that is only half the battle, so you have fitness, but not speed endurance.

Those who have developed their talent before they were formally coached reach the top. Everyone else is working hard for slight gains.

Assuming you train perfectly, your genetics are still the limiting factor. Otherwise those who trained the hardest and smartest would be the best.

Good luck

If you find out the magic formula, let me know, I want to give it to my friend who is 5"5 195 (all muscle) short legs and severe pronator. He is interested in breaking the 5K WR

belly rolls are better wrote:

Not true. Everything that happened to you up until day X will impact your capacity to achieve on or after day X. In particular childhood and prenatal nutrition and childhood exercise will have a lifetime impact.

evidence?

Hello Jim, would you happen to have lived in St. Vital, MB ?