Lance Armstrong and the Marathon

No way he could run 2:04! not with you sucking on his schlong the whole way

The Lance haters will be proven wrong once again.

Jealosy is not a virtue.

Runningart2004 wrote:

You all talk like 2:30 is some cake walk. Somewhere on the board is a list of marathon times for last year or the year before and 2:30 was top 200. I predict a 1:15/1:25 split for a 2:40, maybe a 1:15/1:20 split for a 2:35. That eccentric muscle damage will drop him at around 20 miles.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10 hours of running doesn't present the eccentric muscle damage that 2.5 hours of running will. Cycling is very low impact. He could probably run a decent 5k though, say around 16 flat or even down to 15:30. You give people too much credit to Vo2max. It don't mean shit. My Vo2max is 79.4 and I haven't even broken 15:00 in the 5k.

This is just about the only post in this entire thread that makes any sense...

Lance would need to get a crapload of running miles on his legs just so he doesn't end up getting a stress fracture from the training required to go sub-2:30, not to mention all the other physical ailments/overuse injuries that could possibly arise from marathon training.

It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that Bob Kennedy should run sub-2:10, but the simple fact is that he hasn't. And BK is not some jogger that decided to run a marathon on a lark. Racing a marathon is not the same as racing 5k/10k nor is it the same as bike racing.

Sorry, I don't play that way. Either you posted under your or someone else did, wasn't me. I never said he would run 2:15, I said 2:20's was realistic but not to bet against him as he has proven many people wrong in the past. It would be kind of wild if he did actually run 2:15 though to see what people would say then. Maybe he can do something really crazy and Salazar as his coach which would quite possibly blow this board up.

Should have read "Either you posted it under your name as before or someone esle did, wasn't me." I have better things to do than to pretend post under someone elses name. Too high school for me. I am way beyond that.

Should have read "Either you posted under your name or someone else did, it wasn't me." I don't have the time or energy to fake post for someone. Sorry. Time will tell if he runs one or not, his time will depend on how serious of an effort he decides to put out. I still think that he could run 2:20's if he puts in the work, maybe faster although a long shot.

In the early 80's a masters runner from Buffalo named Ralph Zimmerman ran a 2:16 marathon. He was a former biker, who began running competatively in his early 30's. It is certainly possible that Lance may run well under 2:20, as it has been done before. But, it would take a few years.

gc wrote:

Should have read "Either you posted under your name or someone else did, it wasn't me." I don't have the time or energy to fake post for someone. Sorry. Time will tell if he runs one or not, his time will depend on how serious of an effort he decides to put out. I still think that he could run 2:20's if he puts in the work, maybe faster although a long shot.

Fair enough. I wouldnt dispute he has some talent from running. Who knows what he would have done had he really gone for it. The only point I've been trying to make on this thread is that he retired from cycling and focusing on spending time on his kids, not on marathoning and just because he made some offhand remark about a 2:15 marathon doesnt mean its realistic to expect, or its possible as we have seen before that he was just joking around.

As you state, I seriously doubt that he has the desire (which it really comes down to) to try this all out at this point in his life given what he has said about spending time with his family. It would still be a interesting thing to see what he could really do if he put his mind to it though given how he prepared himself for the tour.

Indurain, the former 5 time tour de France champ, had his vo2max tested at 92. Yes, 92. Lance's talent is right up there with Miguel's. If he loses weight atleast down to the 140s, he's got a shot.

The great Yifter "the shifter" was 36 when he won his gold medal at the 10000(?) beating none other than Lasse Viren. Lance still has some youth in him.

Some other famous sport-switchers:

- Bekele was a soccer player prior to running

- The dude from Eritrea, Tidessey (medaled in Athens 10000m)?, was doing a lot of road biking before running. He actually wanted to be a pro biker.

- Craig Mottram was a Triathlete very similar to how Lance was in his younger days.

-Soup

The guy has beat cancer and won 7 straight Tours. I don't think anything is quite out of reach for that guy, so 2:15 certainly shouldn't if he wants it.

We are just going to have to wait and see what he runs.

2:15, 2:30. He will probably do something in between.

For maximum pub, he will certainly try Chicago or New York. Anything is a net postive for the 'thon. Imagine the press that our sport will be getting.

2:38.

He's a bigger guy for a runner. Power output in cycling doesn't automatically mean he's got running legs for a 2:20.

I don't know what to think on this one.....

He won't have any trouble doing solo runs of 20+ miles....

Whoever said that he knows what its like to do 6 or 7 hour rides with his team, but what about solo 20+ mile runs...well I think he does most of his training solo, he does a few camps with his team but they can't ride with him so those camps don't last long...

As a triathlete he beat the likes of Mark Allen and Scott Molina....both capable of running 2:20 open marathons....

He's an aerobic machine and runs in the offseason, and was a good runner as a triathlete when he was 20 pounds heavier...I don't think I would rule anything out for the guy....

Also he spins a very high cadence, compare that to bigger guys like Jan Ulrich who mash the crap out of the gears...I think mashers are more likely to be bad runners than someone who can spin like lance can.

Runningart2004 wrote:

Lance is muscular for a runner, 5'10' 150lbs, it would take a lot of time to lose that muscle. He's likely to be clunky and bouncy for quite some time. Effeciency takes time, losing muscle takes time. By the time he becomes effecient and skinny enough to REALLY be competitive he'll be near 40. Saying Lance can easily run 2:30 and can become the top American Marathon is like saying Bekele could compete with the top guys on the TdF. Neither is possible.

Alan

I don't think he will be National Class, but he is 158 pounds and it would not take 7 years to shed that weight. Most good marathoners are 5'10/140 and he will lose a lot of weight from his butt, and legs just from not riding.

I don't see why you guys think 2:30 is so hard. I ran 2:35 in high school. Maybe he can, maybe he can't, but who cares. give it a rest. It will be amazing if he acheives something good in running, it will be something to poke fun at if he fails, but wait until he actually does it to gloat about how smart you guys are because you predicted it.

Haven't we all learned that the guy can do just about anything he wants to? 7 straight tours after cancer...how many guys who have run 2:15 can claim anything remotely close to that?

Amby Burfoot explored the How Fast Could Lance Run? question more than a year ago in Runner's World, interviewing Chris Carmichael, Mark Allen, and several bicycling physiology experts. What did they say? The same thing as posters on this board, ie, they were widely divided in their assessments of how fast Lance could run.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-78-0-0-6573,00.html

Has everyone forgotten that Jack Foster was just an old fart who got off his bike and ran a 2.11 at over 40 years of age?

Go read the thread I just posted on Lance's physiology and think again.