Kilian Jornet shows off 4:10 mile fitness in track workout

He split faster than your mile PR in a 3x5k workout. Clown alert.

See It Believe It wrote:

There is less than zero proof that Killian has or can beat anybody in a mile. You can legitimately say that Killian has never been beaten in a road or track race, and that he will remain undefeated forever in road and track races.

See It Believe It wrote:

Harambe wrote:

Wow didn't realize Jornet was so triggering to people. Just b/c he can beat you in a mile despite skiing all day.

There is less than zero proof that Killian has or can beat anybody in a mile. You can legitimately say that Killian has never been beaten in a road or track race, and that he will remain undefeated forever in road and track races.

He can easily beat you and this is all that matters since this thread is really about you.

I'd say Kilian could certainly run a sub 4:25 mile....if not a sub 4:20. Sub 4:10 I don't know. Again, his sweet spot really is 30km-60km in the mountains on super steep and gnarly stuff (and especially technical downhills). He called Pikes Peak a "flat road". The guys is also very good at high altitude stuff.

He dropped everyone hard on the initial Climb at Sierre-Zinal last summer. It was ridiculous. Maybe Jono Wyatt in his prime (a 2:13 marathoner, 13:30s 5km guy and 28:0x 10km guy) who specialized on uphill climbs could match that initial climb. It didn't matter on the downhill though as Kilian crushed that CR by minutes.

This is a mountain race makes 2:12-2:15 marathoners crumble a lot of times.

I've been in races with Kilian (err finishing pretty far behind him) and the lead pack would drop sub 5:00 pace all the time for sections on a trail and he was pretty smooth around 4:50 pace....and that would be in a trail marathon....

Wtf? I'm a 10k type runner and I could not even dream of running 6x400 with 60s rest in 63 (let alone hills + 10x400 + 5x200 + 2*100) and I'm way under 4 flat shape in the 1500m, I agree I'm not a workout hero but there's no way in hell a guy who actually did the workout he said could not run under 4:15, if he doesn't it means he's racing his workouts and underperforming on races and/or cheating a bit on recoveries and times in workouts (10*300in 63"99 is way easier than real 63 flat and 60s recovery is no 60s and then prepare before going for the rep during 15s). This is more likely since as a professional athlete, I don't see him racing his workouts and underperforming in races.

See It Believe It wrote:

if you say so wrote:

No. He averaged 4:50 miles in a 3x5k workout. It is not likely he is a 4:50 miler or 2:30 marathoner.

Until he actually runs a timed mile in a race or time trial, not some self-reported estimate of a rumored workout, then nobody knows that this guy is better than a 4:50 miler. Just once is all it would take. Less than five minutes out of this guys life to shut up all the naysayers. But it will never happen; too much chance of exposure.

Lol. Isn't Walmsley a 3:48 1500 guy? And Killian destroys him.

Also, to give you an idea where "fast" marathoners would end up, Kenyan Isaac Kosgei is a 2:09 flat marathoner. He's run the SZ a few times ending no better than 5th behind guys like Puppi & Simpson. In 2015, he was 11th, 6 minutes behind the winner Jornet, and was even behind near 50 year old Billy Burns!

I really don't think most 2:04-2:05 marathoners would have an impact in the classic mountain races, and even the SZ which is a pretty short race. They'd still be minutes behind Jornet over 31k and would likely lose to people you never heard of.

This is something LRC roadies will never understand. The marathon times do not translate into mountain race victories as easily they wish. All this talk "if only fast Kenyans started running the mountains they'd destroy the entire ultra scenes including KJ" got old and silly. There is more to it than just cardio. Different skeletal muscle adaptations, running economy, mental aspect, etc.

I don't think it's silly. Marathon time is highly correlated to success in a lot of ultras and mountain races. It mainly depends on how technical the mountain races is (aka " how runnable" it is) and if there is a big injury risk for a fall on the downhill. Of course the "variable Running Economy" is the key. If you can handle hills you can handle hills. Just like some track guys are good at hilly XC courses, some fast road marathoners would likely be very good at most ultras and mountain races. There can be some major mishaps and learning curves, but if they practice training on the hills and steep grades and know how to hydrate and fuel, there is no reason a lot of world class marathoners could dominate the mountain-trail running scene. I think some races actually have more in common with Skimo racing though. So if we're lining up at Sierre-Zinal (non-technical, but legit mountain race and only about 19 miles) I'm going to think a lot of marathoners who've run 2:05-2:10 are probably going to do pretty darn well. Sure some might cramp up or bonk and have an epic melt-down, but a few could very well win. A marathoner that fast and talented could smash all sorts of mountain-ultra trail records. Sure I can sometimes beat the 2:13 guy in mountain races and ultras (I'm only a 2:16high guy), but also sometimes the 2:24 guy beats me too! But generally the 2:15 guy is going to crush the 2:35 guy. You can definitely win UTMB with only 2:28 marathon "speed", because it's a 20-hour race and requires a lot more long-haul stamina. But you certainly can't win Sierre-Zinal any more with only 2:28 marathon speed! Again, I'm not sure if Kilian could break 2:15 for the marathon....he every well could though. Just like he might be able to run sub 4:15-4:10 in the mile (I'm not saying he can't). It wouldn't be for a lack of Vo2max or lactate tolerance or endurance stamina though - it would be because of specific muscle Running Economy on variable terrain. But some of that could be trained.

Thanks Sage for the insight.

My 2 cents.

Killian could run anywhere from 4:00 to 4:30. Whatever he runs, it won't make him a single dollar.

Or, Killian could run his trail ultras. Conservatively, $100k+ a year.

See why he could care less about miles and road races?

I am Sam wrote:

Harambe wrote:

See IG below. Does 10x400 at 64-62 with 60s recovery as part of a larger workout.

No doubt he’s under 4:15.

Impressive from a guy who normally runs 50 times the distance!

What's the 'larger workout'?

I used to do 10 x 400 at 60-65, with 90s active 400 recovery as part of total 16km continuous ....was no where near 4:10 shape. As a marathoner, I once did a 2:03 800 though

If you could run 10 x 400 in low 60s's with a 400 recovery done in 90 seconds you seriously under-performed if did not hot 4:10 in your mile races

He most likely could run a 4:10-4:15 mile. Also, despite what Canada thinks he could run well under a 2:15 marathon, he is just mad because he can’t break 2:19 anymore.

shootpost wrote:

My 2 cents.

Killian could run anywhere from 4:00 to 4:30. Whatever he runs, it won't make him a single dollar.

Or, Killian could run his trail ultras. Conservatively, $100k+ a year.

See why he could care less about miles and road races?

I suspect he makes MUCH more than 100k a year. He's a big deal in 2 sports and has a big following in Europe.

Cb wrote:

shootpost wrote:

My 2 cents.

Killian could run anywhere from 4:00 to 4:30. Whatever he runs, it won't make him a single dollar.

Or, Killian could run his trail ultras. Conservatively, $100k+ a year.

See why he could care less about miles and road races?

I suspect he makes MUCH more than 100k a year. He's a big deal in 2 sports and has a big following in Europe.

I purposely shot low because I wanted to make the point and not be distracted by people saying hur dur he doesn't make that much.

With his large sponsors, huge following, and great media presence (videos/movies/instagram), I personally think his salary is in the Matt Centrowitz/Galen Rupp range- 500k to 7 figures

shootpost wrote:

Cb wrote:

I suspect he makes MUCH more than 100k a year. He's a big deal in 2 sports and has a big following in Europe.

I purposely shot low because I wanted to make the point and not be distracted by people saying hur dur he doesn't make that much.

With his large sponsors, huge following, and great media presence (videos/movies/instagram), I personally think his salary is in the Matt Centrowitz/Galen Rupp range- 500k to 7 figures

Let me add a data point to support my claim. Instagram followers:

Matt Centrowitz: 93.3k

Sydney Mclaughlin: 485k

Allyson Felix: 699k

Killian Jornet: 962k

I can't think of a bigger name US runner than those listed.

shootpost wrote:

Cb wrote:

I suspect he makes MUCH more than 100k a year. He's a big deal in 2 sports and has a big following in Europe.

I purposely shot low because I wanted to make the point and not be distracted by people saying hur dur he doesn't make that much.

With his large sponsors, huge following, and great media presence (videos/movies/instagram), I personally think his salary is in the Matt Centrowitz/Galen Rupp range- 500k to 7 figures

Honestly, where I live in Europe, he's the most famous runner after Usain Bolt, Kipchoge and maybe Mo Farah. Even non runners know him, while no one knows Matthew Centrowitz, Christian Coleman, Noah lyles or even Sydney McLaughlin. Just look at his instagram subs, he has close to 1 million subs, so more than almost every runner in the world. Moreover, this guy should make A LOT of money because he can sell his products to every hobbyjogger and mountain runners while no hobbyjogger will buy a spike or a product just because Matthew centrowitz wore them at the Olympics, 97% of "runners" don't even need spikes. Considering that mountain running and trail running is widely more popular than track running, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this guy was making more money than Centrowitz, Jager and Brazier together.

Thats all nice but for now, that 2:05-2:10 marathon runner Kosgei was not able to achieve much at the shorter, faster Sierre Zinal. After several times. Until more of them run it and prove otherwise it does look like the 2:05-2:10 runner is most certainly not doing "pretty darn well"

Fact Check here: What exactly is this Kosgei's marathon PR (the Kosgei who ran Sierre-Zinal)? All I can find is 2:12:59 as a best. So that is very good, but until I see more evidence I can't find that he's actually a "2:05-2:10 marathoner" like you are suggesting? Like I said sometimes the 2:17 guy beats the 2:12 guy in these mountain races. We can't just go by an "n=1" data point to signify a trend. The number of great marathon runners (or even guys that have run under 2:20) who do mountain races like Sierre-Zinal is obviously not a huge sample size - however (like I said earlier) generally the 2:15 guy is going to crush the 2:30 guy. High correlation to marathon fitness and times. Keep in mind "Sierre-Zinal" is not very technical at all, pretty smooth and "runnable" and less than 20-miles in distance. The initial climb is pretty steep and massive though.

juice is delicious wrote:

Thats all nice but for now, that 2:05-2:10 marathon runner Kosgei was not able to achieve much at the shorter, faster Sierre Zinal. After several times. Until more of them run it and prove otherwise it does look like the 2:05-2:10 runner is most certainly not doing "pretty darn well"

Just out of curiosity, Sage, what are your track mile and marathon race PRs? Would you guess that you are faster or slower than Kilian or Matt Carpenter. I believe that Carpenter was about a 4:40 miler in college, did about 30:40 to 31:00 road 10Ks and about a 2:20 marathon. No need for humble bragging - just educated guesses on how fast Kilian could run a mile. 4:10 is ridiculous of course - consider how few college runners with tons of track training and track racing experience do this (maybe a hundred per year). But do you really think that Kilian could do a sub 4:30?

See It Believe It wrote:

Just out of curiosity, Sage, what are your track mile and marathon race PRs? Would you guess that you are faster or slower than Kilian or Matt Carpenter. I believe that Carpenter was about a 4:40 miler in college, did about 30:40 to 31:00 road 10Ks and about a 2:20 marathon. No need for humble bragging - just educated guesses on how fast Kilian could run a mile. 4:10 is ridiculous of course - consider how few college runners with tons of track training and track racing experience do this (maybe a hundred per year). But do you really think that Kilian could do a sub 4:30?

Dude, 4:30 isn’t fast. You really think Jornet is slower than thousands of mediocre high schoolers?

I’ve run 4:20, and based on his workouts and races Jornet is obviously much fitter than me. Assuming the times are accurate, this workout indicates probably 4:15 for a normal runner, but with his huge base I bet he could go faster.

I’m not sure he’d have the leg speed for sub 4:10, but 4:12-4:15 seems pretty reasonable.