PV Supreme wrote:
You're missing the point about how groundbreaking Valby was. It's harder to be the barrier breaker. It's harder to run the second 5K of a 10K solo. It's harder to be as great as Valby was without the benefit of growing up and going to college in altitude.
Hedengren being as great as she is as a freshman has a lot to do with getting started in the sport at a much earlier age than Valby did. Hedengren raced in the USATF Junior Olympic circuit in 5th grade. Valby didn't start running competitively until she was 14. Slice that!
This is satire, right? People are way over-emphasizing the soloing thing. Some people actually push themselves more when solo and falter trying to share the pace in the second half of a race. You just can’t know. Objectivity JH had a better run. Good for her.