Shhh. Eilish McColgan reveals the secret on how to run a near 20-second 10k pb while in the midst of marathon training

It’s a fascinating topic. I wonder if you plot the curve for all elite distance runners when you see the plateau on average in terms of benefit and when the curve begins to deteriorate for most? How unique is the curve to an individual? Would Kipchoge run 1:58 if he ran the same mileage as Cam? Anyway, the fact that she was doing so well last year on 65 miles is amazing. What sort of mileage does Chebet or Gidey run? Is that all Eilish needs to do to be in true medal contention on the last lap in Budapest?

McColgan’s performance immediately made me think of how Radcliffe famously ran her best track times after she began marathon training (her 30:01 was run in August 2002 between London and Chicago marathons, and her 8:22/14:29 PRs were run in 2004 at age 30). That led me to the superficial comparison of the two - both tall lanky blonde Brits with what looks like wonky form.

This sounds crazy considering how untouchable Radcliffe’s WR was for so long, but in the age of super shoes with more women running 2:14-2:17, does McColgan have any chance of breaking Radcliffe’s marathon NR in the next few years? It seems pretty unlikely, but at this point a 2:16:xx wouldn’t really surprise me.

So basically what she explained is a US woman can go <30 and probably <1:05 half without ever running a 100mi week

And this is the first time she’s been able to double in workouts without getting hurt. Previously extra mileage just set her back.

Mileage brings out endurance. I ran a 800 PR during XC

Didn’t Cade Flatt pr in HS on like 10 miles/week? Would he run 1:40 on 50 miles per week? Seems like with so much else, mileage is generally good, but not for everybody and there will be non responders, responders and super responders. For any individual it’s going to be trial and error. I know very well a college 5000 runner who made amazing progress as they ramped up from 50 to 60 to 70 per week. They kept pushing to 80+ thinking more is better, and then they crashed, and not from injury or illness. Just got slower. The curve bent downwards.

It's probably the fact that high mileage, for McColgan, is a new stimulus. It might also be the reason you're seeing performance bumps from Woody Kincaid - in his case, a change in training with more emphasis on threshold. After years maxing out one part of your running, a change in stimulus is likely to bring results

These are the type of responses you would have received from Mo Farah, Shelby Houlihan, Lance Armstrong, etc. Just saying…

runnersworld.com

Shelby Houlihan Is on a Hot Streak. Here’s Why It’s Coming Together Now

She set the 5,000-meter American record on Saturday, thanks to grueling workouts, self-help books, and her emotional support cat.

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For Shelby the secret was the grueling workouts, the self-help books and her emotional support cat.

Cue Armstronglivs any minute now...

I am pinch-hitting for him as the irascible septuagenarian is taking his pre-tirade siesta.

Yes, and also from super-blood Paula

And how does an injury-prone 32-year old runner tolerate a sudden uptick in mileage?

Drugs…..

That she gave up the steeplechase due to injuries and still was unable to run more than once a day is not something she's just come up with now. It's been known well known for years.

Don't think Farah og Houlihan could credibly have come up with something along those lines.

Cade isn't a distance runner. You honestly can't be comparing an 800 runner to McColgan.

For the guy who PRed during XC, that works to a certain point but I'm willing to bet my life savings you didn't run 1:46 doing that.

Being healthy maybe?

That was my point. I was being facetious…..

This is just so great.

Nothing improved my three and six mile times as much as training for the marathon did. That was a very common experience in the 70s and 80s.

Seems to be a very common experience regardless of the time period. Maybe it says something about the way the majority of athletes approach distance running on the track. Even runners training for the 1500, it seems, perform best when they bump up the mileage and threshold volume. Who could've guessed that running more would help you run faster.