Runner at my club does 125+ miles every week

I'd say neither crazy nor gifted.

125 mpw is high mileage but not "crazy"

2:31 is a solid marathon time but not "extremely gifted" unless the guy doesn't train at all.

But if he enjoys it, good on him! Not all training has to be about being the best you can be. It can and should also be what you like doing

How about this guy? Over 200 miles per week every week.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/46043501

HRE wrote:

RancidCupNoodle wrote:

His 5k time has got to be a joke. Excellent aerobic strength if you are suggesting his 5k/10k PRS are the best stuff he has got.

Weekly long run is short for someone averaging that many miles, so sounds like he is doing a lot of doubles. Just needs to do some 200s though and he could be ripping!

pretty regularly

His long run is 22 miles. Really, you think that's short? I would think he must be doubling pretty regularly.

I haven't done the math, but assuming he is geared more towards racing/peaking for marathons I would think the long run would be longer. What's it supposed to be, like 20% of total weekly volume? that's 20 mile long run for 100 mile a week. Pull this randomly, but I think Sage Canaday had a video about long runs not being more than 1/3 of your weekly volume. The gut of it is there are too many variables to consider (pace/terrain/hydration etc). Ryan Hall did long runs longer than marathons (28).

Anyway, it is actually comparable to the style of training I've been doing. As much as I like running after 2 hours I'm ready to be done, rest, and do another shorter run. Jury's out as to whether having fewer but more concentrated efforts is better than multiple easy runs spread throughout the day.

That 20% thing works fine for a certain range of weekly miles. But when I was running 50-60 mpw it would have been 10-12 miles, which I thought would have been too short. And when I was running 140-150 mpw I wanted no part of throwing 28 to 30 mile runs into the mix. I'd think the 20% thing works well for the 70-100 range but even then it's just a number.

Wow, I can't imagine spending around 4 hours a day running. His runs include quite a bit of elevation gain. Averages like 2500+ each day, that's like a small mountain.

HRE wrote:

That 20% thing works fine for a certain range of weekly miles. But when I was running 50-60 mpw it would have been 10-12 miles, which I thought would have been too short. And when I was running 140-150 mpw I wanted no part of throwing 28 to 30 mile runs into the mix. I'd think the 20% thing works well for the 70-100 range but even then it's just a number.

Yeah, I think that's what I vaguely remember from Canaday's training talk. I can imagine that a 28 miler would be hard to do back-to-back weeks. So I wonder if the OP's teammate is doing 22 mile every Sunday via 125 mile weeks or if there is some movement in the amount of volume.

For instance, if you go high-high-low but keep the long run about the same.

Unfortunately I closed Bill Rodgers training log and don't remember how to find it but

looks like did lots of long single runs with an occasional double. so then another question is the how long is a long run if you are doing 18-20 miles already? (like what makes it a long run)

also if anyone else saw BR training log, what was up with the random 1 mile runs he would do? I read his book and I don't remember his mentioning anything about that (one of the miles he did he noted he did in blue jeans)

So...

3.1 miles = 5:28mm

6.2 miles = 5:38mm (double the distance, add 10s / mile)

26.2 miles = 5:46mm (quadruple the distance, add 8s / mile)

Doesn't quite add up does it?

Hobbling wrote:

So...

3.1 miles = 5:28mm

6.2 miles = 5:38mm (double the distance, add 10s / mile)

26.2 miles = 5:46mm (quadruple the distance, add 8s / mile)

Doesn't quite add up does it?

What 's your point? What doesn't "add up" and why should it?

He's just slow, extremely slow and really OCD.

johnfromSJ wrote:

True. I know a former women's XC runner at my HS with mediocre times at the shorter distance who became a Olympian marathoner. She was running 21 minute 5k's from HS even to her junior year in college and somehow got down to a 2:37 in the thon. From an interview, she said that her current marathon pace is the same as her HS mile pace. Crazy things can happen if you give it your all to train. Of course, most people won't improve as much as she did, going from a JV runner to an Olympian, but I suspect that many could improve greatly with high mileage. In addition, she always had the slim build suitable for marathoning. For those interested, her name is Joanna Reyes.

Sorry to break it to you, but a 2:37 is going to take anyone to the Olympics. I think you mean "Olympic Trials Qualifier", which while still very impressive, is not remotely close to being an Olympian. 433 women qualified for the US Olympic Trials this year, 3 qualified for the Olympics.

Swim Bike Run wrote:

curious09821904 wrote:

Is this guy crazy or just extremely gifted? His longest weekly run is about 22 miles.

PBs:

5k 16:57

10k 34:56

marathon 2:31:06

Crazy.

Avg high 13 to 14 hours of running per week is more than most elites or professionals. With a long run of 22 mi, thats 17% of total distance which is not much more than his daily average. If running 6 days per week, he averages 20 mi per day. Even running 7x per week, 18 mi/day.

Great if he loves running and that's his thing to do, but following that plan will not make you great.

I am not bragging but I ran 2:32 off of 3 months of 80 mpw, up from averaging 40-50 for a while. I was a mid-D guy in college and had for about 8 years been averaging 40-50mpw, taking about 3 months off throughout each year. What helped me get from 2:50 to 2:32 was just consistency. No crazy workouts, just putting in consistent miles over the years. In the longer distances, it's a game of diminishing returns with training and performance. Had I boosted my mileage to +100 miles I honestly don't think I would have gotten much better than 2:25. Life got in the way.

uh ok? wrote:

Talent on its own is the last thing to brag about - you obtained it by being born. Are you looking for a feeling of inherent superiority? Look elsewhere than 5k times.

Like Really Bro wrote:

When I’m feeling neurotic and questioning whether or not I’m talented at all, it’s nice to come into these threads and remember I ran 15:50 as a senior on 35 mpw.

Uh ok? You are a slow person

curious09821904 wrote:

Is this guy crazy or just extremely gifted? His longest weekly run is about 22 miles.

PBs:

5k 16:57

10k 34:56

marathon 2:31:06

Definitely not extremely gifted. The marathon time is way better than the 5 and 10K times, maybe he never races those distances. His Marathon is less than 20 secs per mile slower than his 5K. That is not a regular progression as distance increases for most runners.

His best time is the marathon, most college D1 runners could blow that one away. Most people doing 125 mile weeks are either elite marathoners or top ultra guys. Not very many guys in the 2:30's willing to put in that volume of work for that return. But if he enjoys it great for him.

curious09821904 wrote:

Is this guy crazy or just extremely gifted? His longest weekly run is about 22 miles.

PBs:

5k 16:57

10k 34:56

marathon 2:31:06

Opinion from 30,000 feet. Take some time to do less mileage and more 5k/10k paced intervals. His marathon will improve.

curious09821905 wrote:

If he would run a little more, he could do a sub 2:30 Marathon.

Fixed it for you.

Runner10287 wrote:

curious09821904 wrote:

Is this guy crazy or just extremely gifted? His longest weekly run is about 22 miles.

PBs:

5k 16:57

10k 34:56

marathon 2:31:06

Opinion from 30,000 feet. Take some time to do less mileage and more 5k/10k paced intervals. His marathon will improve.

I mean it goes both ways.. I went from a 33 mid 10k buy with 100+ miles a week then did 110-130 miles for 3 years and some good marathons (def better than 32 equivalent) then after a marathon a week of fun and 3 weeks of 60-80 miles/week I broke 32... and was not in near the shape I was in during marathon training... then did another marathon build up to 120+ and PR'd by almost 4 min. My high milage led to me being able to do 4 workouts with a huge base and destroy my 10k pr... the running a 10k faster probably helped a little in my marathon PR... but overall the key was consistently running high milage much like the OP references..

and as for the disparity of time I would assume he ran the shorter races off of 100-120 miles a week. I have the same issue. my 5k pace 120 mile week is barely faster than my 10k pace... but with just a bit of peaking (or even just not really focusing on running and just enjoying life) as mentioned above your speed can get there. most people just rest for a long time after a marathon... sometimes I believe with a little rest and easy weeks it's just a big base for shorter faster stuff. Good stuff... though overall I feel like I have a lot of similarities with the OP

I ran a 16:53 5k in high school on probably 25 mpw.

But that marathon time is pretty good! I guess this guy is just super slow twitch.

Slow Bro wrote:

I ran a 16:53 5k in high school on probably 25 mpw.

But that marathon time is pretty good! I guess this guy is just super slow twitch.

I'm sure if you wanted to train for a marathon, you could probably school this guy. 2:30 is not that fast.