39 former pro soccer legend, David Villa, runs 38:09 -10km in Madrid. Very impressive.

Conconni test is under different protocol and is measured per 200m repeats at incremental pace, until failure to meet the increasing pace (on sound signal). 12min test is a standard Cooper test, used almost for 50 years.

Currently it is replaced with 6min test in season (given other requirements from the energy system of the players in full game season), and 12min test is performed out of season before and after the conditioning phase of preparation (usually in January and early March, and June and August - depending on the start of the season).

Lukaku might have a problem to run 3600m in 12min, but I am sure he gets some slack, given his other abilities. I would be surprised if he could not get to 3200m though, at least with the goalies... That by itself shows the ability to run sub 40min per 10km, even though I doubt that anybody would want him to do it...

Ghost1 wrote:

I am not denying that this female intern was a aggrieved by Villa’s ”harassment” but it seem that she misinterpreted his jocular “advances“ wrongly in the sense that David Villa probably did not mean any harm to this young intern.

The fact that he repeated the declarations so often in the presence of anyone and everyone in the New York football club training grounds, that he “loved“ this young intern shows that he was not really serious about that declaration.

At least this is my take on the story for what it’s worth.

We are in a “me too culture” these days and for the past few years which makes it very difficult for men to say anything complementary to women lest it be taken in the wrong way.

Why are you being an apologist for someone's behavior that was clearly questionable? If I did anything of those things described, I would be fired for creating a hostile work environment. That is a well establish precedent of sexual harassment in the workplace. These sorts of verbal harassment or "harmless" touches often lead to unwanted advances or actual physical harm. It's a little hard for some intern to speak out against the club's biggest star.

It's actually quite easy to interact with women in a manner that is not taken the wrong way. Even compliment them about their clothing choices or hair style. Just don't do it in a way that sounds creepy or like you are making an advance.

Good on him, not only do I think it's reasonably impressive, I'm not surprised. An athlete who knows how to be disciplined towards training with a clear baseline of ability should be able to do this easily. Suspect he will end up much, much faster. Nice

oldschoollrc wrote:

I ran a faster 10K when I was older...but my soccer career ended in HS.

Same with me!

weekly reminder

https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2020/04/21/chelsea-midfielder-ross-barkley-accused-fake-5k-time-12587179/amp/

Salvitore Stitchmo wrote:

Good on him, not only do I think it's reasonably impressive, I'm not surprised. An athlete who knows how to be disciplined towards training with a clear baseline of ability should be able to do this easily. Suspect he will end up much, much faster. Nice

agree-most soccer players have to be pretty fit--not like the pub days of the 60s/70s--Villa could probably do a 4:30-4:40 mile with some work given that strikers like himself had a lot of speed; a few guys in my high school years ago played club soccer and ran for our team and did well considering.17-18 min 5k with limited practices, but the soccer training did help!

I think you’re right that he (Villa) overstepped the line with the intern but at the same time I think the intern should’ve made her concerns known to the club as soon as those incidents started to happen on a regular basis.

Once again, I’m not condoning what Villa did but this could’ve all been dealt with and nipped in the bud much earlier rather than going the long route and making a big issue with that one year down the line.

It can be construed now that the intern is doing this for financial gain.

Villa is the big loser in this because he was 38 at the time or close to 39 and the intern was just out of her teens so I really don’t know what he was playing at. He (Villa) comes from a very humble farming background and is almost illiterate never having focused on studies so I think there’s a cultural factor there as well. He should’ve known better but he has now paid a very high price with his name tainted which will be difficult to erase in the future. Other footballers face similar dilemmas like Karim Benzema and others.

What is the meaning of this??? First of all 39 years old is not old for distance running , second 38'09" is 3'48/km not 3'43/km. Third was en ex professional football player

In Italy we have an ex footballer amateur level and is 49 years old and at the december 2020 Reggio Emilia Marathon just run 2:25:30 This is something extraordinary!!!

https://deandreafausto.blogspot.com/2020/12/massi-milani-48-anni-si-migliora-alla.html

Ghost1,

You tend to exaggerate. Not only about Villa´s 10km time but also when you praise the good French runner Jimmy Gressier as if he is the next worldbeater.

About Villa:

1. As pointed out by others: Elite soccer players DO a lot of aerobic training in the base training period.

As a former elite soccer player myself I can inform you that in my Scandinavian home country we in the seventies (before we had professionalism) ran in the forest in the vinter, including 6-7 km tempo runs where our times were carefully registered so it could be seen if we were progressing.

2. I know veteran runners who came from soccer running very impressive times in the 10km.

I came from soccer to running myself when I was 51 and a few month later I ran 7,5km in just under 26.5 minutes. I guess that equals around 36 minutes in the 10km.

And I was more a middle distance man. Next year - at 52 - after more specific training I ran 57.17 in the 400m, 2:07.5 in the 800m and 4:29 in the 1500m. I think the 800m time was the best relatively.

Your times are very impressive especially coming from a soccer background and all the more so coming in at age 52 and I feel that at age 52 running the times you ran you would be classified as an elite veteran in the over 50 category please correct me if I’m wrong.

Not sure if you are Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or Finnish but it is always very impressive to read Scandinavians’ use of English which is basically almost at native fluency level.

Seems that I have overestimated Villa’s time according to many of the posters here, but I should point out that I do believe Villa, if he wants to, can go quite a bit faster for 10 km with more specific training. I’m thinking around 35 minutes within the next year and again, I stress if he wants to.

With your own case of a 52-year-old if you moved up to 10 km with more distance training and based on your 429 or 1500 m and other times I feel you could run around 34/35 minutes or faster. Not sure how much you weigh but I suspect you are a mess of morphine weight and so that is always a disadvantage for distance running. That is why I was very surprised earlier this year when there was a Norwegian triathlete who is quite heavy and very heavily muscled who stated that he wanted to run under 28 minutes for 10,000 m!I forget his name but he got nowhere near that time.

I felt that this Norwegian was being kind of disrespectful to elite athletes who run sub 28 minutes because that is really a world class time in my book.

There was a big typo mistake in the message: “ you are a mess of morphine weight” should read “you are a mésomorphe ...(mésomorphe = muscular/athletic physique)

Yet another useless Ghost thread, purporting the specialness of a nobody. Always starts off with 3-5 posts from himself on this thread, then continues to populate the thread with his own hot air.

Every. Week. Same BS...

Is this thread for real?

I ran 38:xx in my first 10k at 15. I was a soccer player.

That's not impressive at all, especially from a 39 year old!

Ghost1 wrote:

Your times are very impressive especially coming from a soccer background and all the more so coming in at age 52 and I feel that at age 52 running the times you ran you would be classified as an elite veteran in the over 50 category please correct me if I’m wrong.

Not sure if you are Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or Finnish but it is always very impressive to read Scandinavians’ use of English which is basically almost at native fluency level.

Seems that I have overestimated Villa’s time according to many of the posters here, but I should point out that I do believe Villa, if he wants to, can go quite a bit faster for 10 km with more specific training. I’m thinking around 35 minutes within the next year and again, I stress if he wants to.

With your own case of a 52-year-old if you moved up to 10 km with more distance training and based on your 429 or 1500 m and other times I feel you could run around 34/35 minutes or faster. Not sure how much you weigh but I suspect you are a mess of morphine weight and so that is always a disadvantage for distance running. That is why I was very surprised earlier this year when there was a Norwegian triathlete who is quite heavy and very heavily muscled who stated that he wanted to run under 28 minutes for 10,000 m!I forget his name but he got nowhere near that time.

I felt that this Norwegian was being kind of disrespectful to elite athletes who run sub 28 minutes because that is really a world class time in my book.

---------------

Coming to running at 52.

Remember: I had already as part of my soccer training been doing a lot of running starting in my early teens. As a veteran soccer player I also self trained in the vinter periods (not every year but in many years). I was 7 in the final of the European Veteran Championships the year after I started running seriously in the 800m and 10 in the 1500m. So yes, I was elite but there were some who were quite a bit faster. When I was 55, however, I was no. 3 in the official world ranking in 800m (behind an American and an English).

Villa:

I agree that Villa probably can be significantly better in the 10km if he made some efficient aerobic training. But he should also try the middle distances as I did since he would possible get some rather fast times here.

My own 10km:

I agree that I could have run a rather good 10km with more specific training but my talent is in the middle distances (I am the "born" 800m runner).

But the best runners in the 50 age group ran under 35 minutes in the 10,000m! And around 16 minutes in the 5000m.

My physique:

I was 175cm and 65 kg (still the same). So very slim. But your legs get strong by soccer training and playing, not only by the running but also by the kicking.

From soccer to running:

I think that you have learned from other posters here, including myself, that soccer players have the potential to be quite good runners. But of course only the ones who are training seriously. Some soccer players have been notorious for partying, drinking and more and such players would probably have a hard time to even run a 10km. George Best, Maradona, Ronaldino and Niclas Bender (Danish national player) come to mind.

Language:

I think you write quite a good English yourself. Aren´t you of French origin?

Running under 28 in the 10,000:

I agree that this is only for people who BOTH have a very good talent for distance running (including the right physical frame and the right slow twitch fibres) AND who is training right aerobically. (I think that many people tend to underestimate the value of the right balanced aerobic training; without that nobody can succeed at the highest level from 1500m and up in my opinion).

Not impressive.

He likely has $100 million in the bank and has been doing nothing but fitness for the past 30 years.

The best running club in my area has guys running 29 minute 10ks, and they work a regular 9-5 job.

voice of reason wrote:

Not impressive.

He likely has $100 million in the bank and has been doing nothing but fitness for the past 30 years.

The best running club in my area has guys running 29 minute 10ks, and they work a regular 9-5 job.

I suspect that you are based in great Britain because that is often the pattern for British long distance runners who have a full-time job and still manage to run well around a full-time job. I remember when I was running there were so many sub 28 minute 10,000 m runners and all of them I repeat all of them had full-time jobs. These included Bernie Ford, David black, Geoff Smith, Nick Rose, Tony Simmons, Dave Clark, Mike McLeod, Steve Binns, Richard Nerurkar, and others that I may have missed

Bernie Ford, full-time taxman in central London working full-time from 9 to 5 every day and commuting quite a distance running at lunchtime during his lunch break and then in the evening.

Bernie Ford (03/08/1952)

Job: Tax Man, executive officer, full time 9-5, Central London.

Lunchtime: Green Park 6-7 miles, evening - 6-8 miles, progressive, tempo and once weekly track work. Average mileage 80 miles per week.

Two Miles 8:37.0h Gateshead (GBR) 01 SEP 1975 1057

5000 Metres 13:26.0h Gateshead (GBR) 30 JUL 1977 1116

10,000 Metres 27:43.74 London (GBR) 09 SEP 1977 1157

15 Kilometres 44:09 Stoke (GBR) 05 MAY 1974 1064

10 Miles Road 47:03 Walton (GBR) 19 OCT 1975 1090

Marathon 2:10:51 Fukuoka (JPN) 02 DEC 1979 1146

All full time workers, all sub 28 mins track.

From left to right Mike McLeod, Brendan Foster, David Black, Tony Simmons, Bernie Ford.

Picture taken at the national cross country in 19 77/9 miles

These guys were monsters on the track on the roads and on the cross country. Golden era of British running.