How much does genetics affect running?

A lot. Kenya and Ethiopia have a lot more pro distance runners per capita than anyone else and its not all due to training at altitude.

facts and reason wrote:

https://bodyheightweight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Mo-Farah-family-twin-brother-Hassan.jpg

What would Mo Farah's brother run in a 5k after 1 year of training and dieting?

As for siblings:

Then you have Chad and Ryan Hall, the Ingrebristens. More father/mother and child pairs (the centros, the spences, etc.) than you can shake a stick at. The key to running really fast is picking the right parents.

One of the coaches here said that one of his athletes ran 16:30 or something after only 3 months of training.

So what would Mo Farah's brother run? 15:20 after 1 year?

They share the same DNA.

Genetics isn't everything...it's the only thing!

Genetics is where it all begins...that's why they're the ones that always win!

Those with the great genetics get all the glory while the rest of us are just another sad story! ?

no matter how hard you try, the person with better genes will always beat you.

if you dont have the genes, you can not be elite no matter what.

The Predictor wrote:

no matter how hard you try, the person with better genes will always beat you.

if you don't have the genes, you can not be elite no matter what.

Not true. If they don't put the hard work in, you can beat them. The ones that you cannot beat have good genes and a great work ethic.

Kvothe wrote:

Then you have Chad and Ryan Hall, the Ingrebristens. More father/mother and child pairs (the centros, the spences, etc.) than you can shake a stick at. The key to running really fast is picking the right parents.

You can see evidence of familial generic superiority like this in all sports: The Alou and DiMaggio brothers in baseball, Leon and Michael Spinks in boxing, the Gracie clan in MMA, Eddy and Axl Merckx and Matthieu Van Der Poel (Son of Adri and grandson of Raymond Poulidor) in cycling, and in hockey there was Phil and Tony Esposito and the Sutter family, which sent a staggering six brothers to the NHL. And that's just to name a few

Gregor Mendel wrote:

Kvothe wrote:

Then you have Chad and Ryan Hall, the Ingrebristens. More father/mother and child pairs (the centros, the spences, etc.) than you can shake a stick at. The key to running really fast is picking the right parents.

You can see evidence of familial generic superiority like this in all sports: The Alou and DiMaggio brothers in baseball, Leon and Michael Spinks in boxing, the Gracie clan in MMA, Eddy and Axl Merckx and Matthieu Van Der Poel (Son of Adri and grandson of Raymond Poulidor) in cycling, and in hockey there was Phil and Tony Esposito and the Sutter family, which sent a staggering six brothers to the NHL. And that's just to name a few

But that's not necessarily due to genetics - it's due to lifestyle and how these kids were raised. People whose parents did a certain sport are likely to try the same sport at least somewhat competitive. There is plenty of research out there. Most kids never even end up trying T&F, or hockey, or MMA, etc competitively. No kid can try 100+ different sports on a high level to find out if they can get good at a particular sport.

If you want to make real statements, let EVERY SINGLE 8-year old kid in the world join a track club, doing similar training. Or let all of them join the NFL. THEN check for the parents on those who become really good. But one thing needs to happen too - no contact at all between the kids and parents. Because otherwise you have again the influence of parents who are very experienced with running and can support and help their kid get better vs parents who got absolutely no clue.

It's the same with people saying those whose parents are academics have a much higher IQ - because they are much more likely to attend and complete college than people from the lowest income classes. No, again it's the parents being able to allow them to go to college.

Having someone like Gjert Ingebrigtsen as your dad is a massive advantage, even if genetics would have 0% influence. He would have guided you since your early years into running, built you up with an excellent training program, weekly/monthly lactate testing and really enforce a running culture.

You forgot to mention Tinman.

I disagree.

Lifestyle being exactly the same. I was never going to be Bolt. I was never going to be Webb. I was never going to be Ryun.

There’s a HS kid that ran 9:08 for 3200 last week. I didn’t run that fast until well into college and I started running before age 10, and I was still more talented than 98% of the world.

Every elite runner is a genetic freak. No exceptions.

Every medalist or record holder is a freak among freaks.

hmm ok ok wrote:

I disagree.

Lifestyle being exactly the same. I was never going to be Bolt. I was never going to be Webb. I was never going to be Ryun.

There’s a HS kid that ran 9:08 for 3200 last week. I didn’t run that fast until well into college and I started running before age 10, and I was still more talented than 98% of the world.

Every elite runner is a genetic freak. No exceptions.

Every medalist or record holder is a freak among freaks.

I agree with you - that genetics matter a LOT. Where I disagreed was with the comments that tied genetics to the ability of biological parents, as in "mix two Olympic runners and the kid will be a new champion". Mary Cain's parents were both sedentary and overweight business people. She still had the superior, elite genetics. There are thousands of elite runners/Olympians that had parents who couldn't run a sub 9 mile.

Every elite runner is a genetic freak. No exceptions. - Yes

Every elite runner's parents are genetic freaks in the same sport. No exceptions - Absolutely not!

Actually, you can't really tell unless they have tried.

Have Mary Cain's parents ever tried to train hard, to compete, to see what their running potential is/was?

Maybe they are genetic freaks in the same sport but they just never tried.

Without the right genes it doesn't matter how much you train, what coach you use, what approach you take or even when you start running. The person with the genes will take you out with half the effort, half the work.

Read the bios of most of all the top runners and they read very similarly. Usually they were in another sport then tried running for X reason and they were state champions/running in nationals etc. within a very short time.

They're a Formula 1 racecar just waiting for someone to put in a little fuel and put them on the track, while most of us are just Toyota Camrys maxing out what we have .

Alan55 wrote:

The Predictor wrote:

no matter how hard you try, the person with better genes will always beat you.

if you don't have the genes, you can not be elite no matter what.

Not true. If they don't put the hard work in, you can beat them. The ones that you cannot beat have good genes and a great work ethic.

Not if you're a 20 minute guy. Besides one of them at least always pits the work in.

It matters a lot.

Marathoners are smaller boned than most. They also tend to be on the shorter side with longer legs relative to their torso. Mary Keitany is a prime example. She was just smaller all over than Shalane. And Shalane is tiny!

Only if you have good genes also. Great genes can run 4:30 off the couch. God genes can run 4:29 with proper training. Average gets runs 5:30 with best training and bad guns runs 8 minutes regardless of how much training.

Genes matter a ton.

Consistent 100 mile weeks for a marathoner can result in an OTQ or the 2:20s/30s/40s. At some point I don't really think someone in there isn't working hard enough. They just maybe weren't supposed to be a distance runner and that's just fine. You do the sport because you like it. It is frustrating to realize that you took something up that you'll never be great at no matter how hard you try.

There was a book out a few years ago called The Sports Gene by David Epstein that examined the importance of genetics in sports. Spoiler alert: genetics is really important.

hmm ok ok wrote:

I disagree.

Lifestyle being exactly the same. I was never going to be Bolt. I was never going to be Webb. I was never going to be Ryun.

There’s a HS kid that ran 9:08 for 3200 last week. I didn’t run that fast until well into college and I started running before age 10, and I was still more talented than 98% of the world.

Every elite runner is a genetic freak. No exceptions.

Every medalist or record holder is a freak among freaks.

I meant HS freshman***