Or, is 15 minutes the standard? I mean, 15 minutes is pretty good, and there are some of us that are in this range. I mean, 14:49 is good for most (local) races. To be in it.
But, it seems that to be near the top levels requires some where near 14.
Any elites to chime in? :) Jager or Solinski might have some opinions.
Or, is 15 minutes the standard? I mean, 15 minutes is pretty good, and there are some of us that are in this range. I mean, 14:49 is good for most (local) races. To be in it.
But, it seems that to be near the top levels requires some where near 14.
Any elites to chime in? :) Jager or Solinski might have some opinions.
BP
Idk if I'm more confused that you think sub15 might be elite, or that Jager/Solinski are going to reply to this thread?
sub15 is not elite, and sub14 is no longer truly elite. Some may say 13:30 but imo I think athletes need to be under 13:20 to be truly elite, and at least 13:0X to be competitive in any elite scenario.
Obviously it may look different country to country (ie. Britain has very few sub 13:30's) but when you have so many US college kids (and now high schoolers) running sub14, that doesnt feel like "elite" anymore
Sub 14 5k is what folks with some talent who work hard and don't get injured can achieve in college and beyond. Not elite in my opinion, though very solid.
More than 220 college kids went sub 14 and 94 went 13:45 or faster this year. Probably not elite at the national level. Depends on how you want to define elite. It is elite at the high school level. College and Pro level not really.
In my opinion, an elite runner is a Professional athlete.
They might have a part time job to enable them to sustain an International level running career for several years. Or they might get enough sponsorship to enable them to put off getting a proper job until their mid 30s. Either way, they are fast enough to be newsworthy a few times a year on an international level.
In my opinion, an elite runner is a Professional athlete.
They might have a part time job to enable them to sustain an International level running career for several years. Or they might get enough sponsorship to enable them to put off getting a proper job until their mid 30s. Either way, they are fast enough to be newsworthy a few times a year on an international level.
What is a professional athlete?
Can a 14:00 5k guy win enough money at road races and survive on running alone?
Can a 13:30 guy on the track?
How many US runners survive on winnings and sponsorship alone? Not many.
In comparison how many NBA players, NFL players, or MLB players survive on their sport alone? TONs more.
Any sport in which your biggest championship is the Olympics is not a true professional sport.
Example: Kurt Angle didnt win poop as the '96 Olympic Gold Medalist. He had to go do fake rasslin to earn money as MMA was really just starting to get traction.
