How to be an old-school tough runner

Just run.

should be studying 102 wrote:

I am a young 20's runner growing up in an interesting time for running. The most obvious role models are guys like Tinman elite, the Athlete special, any number of instagram workout heros. the only problem is I think these guys are kinda running prima donnas. In contrast to these guys, I read about runners like Bill Rodgers and Dick Beardsley who ran FAST while working jobs, training in sub-par conditions etc.

Give me some tips of how to be a tough old school runner. You older guys who have been in the sport for a while, how do you do it while working full time, supporting a family, etc?

Any tough bad a$$ stories of the golden era of running would be appreciated

I'm a mid-20s guy as well, and this question kind of tells us what is wrong with so many people, our age, younger, and older. You want an identity - "old school tough runner" - so you ask how to have that identity. But did Bill Rodgers ever ask himself this? No because there was likely no concept of what one of these was at the time. He just did what he had to do to achieve whatever goals he had, and the "identity" followed along.

So just be yourself, keep running even when you are working long hours and have other commitments, have big dreams. Maybe you'll find out you are just like these guys, or maybe you'll be some totally different breed of which we haven't conceived.

These things are broad across all life. A great analogy is to that friend we've all had who is tired of "not having a girlfriend", and only talks about how he can't get a girlfriend. If all this is consuming his mind, he must not be thinking about/doing anything interesting. Which is likely why he can't get a girlfriend. If you have to think too hard about how to be a 70s/80s blue collar runner you likely aren't doing the things that will make you become one.

should be studying 102 wrote:

The most obvious role models are guys like Tinman elite, the Athlete special, any number of instagram workout heros

they're not role models at all, but i guess the "obvious" descriptor fits.

Work hard, don't stress or gloat about workouts, get out no matter the weather, don't waste time on social media, focus on yourself

Buy a $200 tracksmith top to show how blue collar and amateur you are.

First- has there ever been a generation that thought the "new school" kids were tough? I think it's human nature to believe the younger generation is a bunch of pansies and its also natural for younger people to be enamored by the mythology of runners from previous generations. There's people with different personalities in every generation so there's always the attention-seekers and the guys who just put their head down and grind. Social media/YouTube just makes it easier to identify the attention-seekers.

Second- Being 'blue collar' is overrated in my opinion. I mean, what does that even mean anymore? Being interesting on social media/Youtube makes you money. That's just how the world works- So I wouldn't knock any guys for how they appear on Social Media/Youtube... they are creating a personality that ultimately helps them earn more money or get better opportunities. I really dislike social media and Youtube, but I'd likely have more opportunities if I was more engaging on those platforms. So I could easily make the argument that those guys are actually grinding more than me. They are doing the things that will make them more successful that I don't want to do because it makes me uncomfortable (By success I mean overall success- not just running times). These guys may not particularly inspire you- which is totally fine, but I think they still deserve credit.

To answer your question, running really doesn't take that much time. Even running a 140 miles a week means you're only going to put in a little over 2 hours a day of running. That's nothing.

Every middle-aged cyclist puts in more time than that. So just do it. But don't just grind for the sake of grinding. If you're exhausted, rest every now and then, or you're not going to get better anyways. I mean, grinding isn't that hard. Any dork can push himself to exhaustion but that doesn't make him bad@$$. Combining hard work with common sense and a decent understanding of training is what should be admired. And is it really that hard to train 2 hours a day while also being a good Dad, husband, and employee? I mean, unless you're an obsessed lunatic, why should running cause you to be a jerk? In fact, most studies say physical activity improves your mental, emotional, and interpersonal wellness. So is it that hard to train well, work, and support a family? NO. So just do it.

Be like Zatopek-do 400 meter repeats in a forest wearing army boots.

Substance over style--it wasn't even close.

Never cared what anyone else thought, because actions (fast races) matter more than words.

No excuses...get it done.

-cotton tshirt

-shorty shorts

-cotton sweats

-ringer gym socks

-nike waffle racers

-Casio chronograph

-no garmin

-no Strava

-NO HRM

run A LOT of miles

run most of those miles REALLY HARD

Race more weekends than you don't

never refer to vo2mx, threshold, tempos, and any of that science jargon.. just talk in terms of pace- mile pace, 5k pace, 10k pace, marathon pace

Most runners run Bill Rodgers style.

You always have to navigate work, family and life with your training. That is just a normal process. I think for the most part it is actually beneficial.

Some of the pro runners have too much time on their hands and get injured because they run too much.

If you have 5 other things to juggle, that won't happen.

Set yourself some longtime goals and adjust the short time goals to your life situation.

Long time ago I was 20 too. Read about a crazy race and 8 years later I did it.

Even as a normal athlete you can achieve great things.

One of coaches was a bada$$ who treated running like his job. Summer training in college was 10 miles in the morning and 15 at night, 6 days a week. No tempos, no intervals, no speed play, no racing. Not intentionally at least. He just f'ng ran. Most of the time on his own in between seasons. He was injured a lot, but also scored on 2 NCAA CC championship teams and went 8:34 in the steeple. He was also a tough guy from a tough neighborhood. We're all products of our environment and all things being = he and those like him are going to own those who have come up soft or worry too much about overtraining, their latest pair of expensive boutique shoes, VO2 max and other ancillary BS. "Just run hard" he always said.

This is Jim Kiler wrote:

Just run.

and get a real job.

It's an interesting question and it should be right up my alley given that I ran in that era but I really don't think we were especially tough. Some were tougher than others. We had jobs because we needed them. If someone had given us a trust fund or a shoe contract we'd mostly have quit and run full time.

You trained to race and if racing was going well you probably thought your training was good. It seems to me like today "correct" training is defined more by how well what you do matches what some physiologist claims is correct or optimal no matter how you're racing. And I think there's a kind of fixation today with not getting injured. It almost seems to like that too has become another goal of training even more than racing well has. I really just cannot remember there being so much discussion of injury avoidance then as now. Maybe that seems tougher but I just cannot remember injuries being that much of a problem. They happened. You didn't like them. But you took some down time until they got better.

If you want to imitate us I'd say, run lots of miles, run twice on at least some days, run hard if you feel good and easy if you're tired, race at least semi often, and never call it a thon.

If you have to ask how to be tough, then you don t fit the bill.

Here;s a suggestion:

Be yourself.

I'm tough, but I was born tough.

I am a pure guts runner.

I used to shake my head at joggers on the road... Promised myself to never waste time going one mile per hour. 80% of my runs are 7:00 pace or faster. No mucking about.

Finishing a hard run: I exert as much energy as possible. No money left in the bank. Throw form in the shredder cus thatprevents you from reaching your full potential.

BLEED in your workouts and DONT let noob teammates EVER beat you. Even in warm-ups. You need to put them in their place.

Also be alpha.

I am a low mileage no-nonsense guy who gets swole during downtime, but you may be a high mileage type. Nothing wrong with that but you better be hittin' some serious hills. Do a Gerry Lindgren and sprint the first mile of your workout ALL OUT and then cruise the next 10 miles. Kick it in with .5 miles left to go.

Prefontaine never ran any slow miles. Never slower than 6:30. Total alpha. He was ripped because unlike Gerry, he did normal miles. But he had the muscles to compensate. The alpha lean physique.

Do out of the box workouts like 3x a day or timed intervals ON THE ROAD. Big alpha. Always do repeats after a hard continuous run. Take your shirt off for the ladies at the track. Also wear short shorts and never shave. Alpha (just make sure you're ripped like Pre).

Take the lead in races. Show that you aren't afraid of a dare. You go so much faster when you're hanging onto dear life in the front of a pack. You gain alpha confidence just by being there and make your opponents race much faster.

Also... Don't wear BOA shorts with flamingos or kisses. Those make you look like a simp.

HRE wrote:

I think there's a kind of fixation today with not getting injured. It almost seems to like that too has become another goal of training even more than racing well has.

I never get injured because I believe that I am resilient to all injury. And so should us all. If you think you can do more: the answer is: you can.

I never stretch or anything and never get injured. Stretching is for posers or veterans. Not for the youth.

Sham 69 wrote:

If you have to ask how to be tough, then you don t fit the bill.

Here;s a suggestion:

Be yourself.

yer a fkn weirdo

1. 70 miles per week minimum

2. One 20 miler per week

3. 400 meter repeats every week

4. Race 20 to 25 times per year

5. 90% of all miles on concrete

That70sRunner wrote:

-cotton tshirt

-shorty shorts

-cotton sweats

-ringer gym socks

-nike waffle racers

-Casio chronograph

-no garmin

-no Strava

-NO HRM

run A LOT of miles

run most of those miles REALLY HARD

Race more weekends than you don't

never refer to vo2mx, threshold, tempos, and any of that science jargon.. just talk in terms of pace- mile pace, 5k pace, 10k pace, marathon pace

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This just took me back 40+ years! Hahaha!

work as a welder...eat fish n' chips ...run yards n' miles instead of them fancy forrin' cheese eatin' surrender monkey metrics ...booyah ...https://ottosump.tumblr.com/post/96008784328/alf-tupper-the-tough-of-the-trackoriginal ...