We have some data points now that the age group divisions have finished this event. I knew those times were too good to be true, so I did a little detective work. Fortunately for us, the guy who got 2nd in the 35-39 age group uploaded his run onto Strava.
It turns out the "5k" was really a 4.56 km (or about 2.8 miles). That 17:36 for 2.8 miles converts to 19:25 for 5k, so that's almost 2 minutes less than the alleged 5k course that they ran. Still solid for non-runners who are pushing 200 lbs, but definitely too good to be true.
I'm a huge CrossFit fan, but as a runner first, I couldn't believe those sub-18 times without verifying. Now we have evidence that shows the course was definitely short by over 400m. Anyways, when the top-40 individual athletes race this 5k next week, add about 9% to their reported time and that'll be how fast they actually would have run a 5k.
That's the part I don't get. ~18:00(men)/20:00(women) are fantastic times for bigger folks who aren't training for the distance. Why not just run a legit 5k?
This “5k” thing is really bugging me. I’ve never done CrossFit, but I’ve always admired it and enjoy watching highlights from the games. There was a lot of chatter about the 5k CC event ahead of these games and while I didn’t expect a certified course, being ~10% short on this universally recognizable distance is pathetic.
Imagine if the weights for the olympic lifting events were 10% lighter, the event would never recover from a Milli Vanilliesque reveal.
We have some data points now that the age group divisions have finished this event. I knew those times were too good to be true, so I did a little detective work. Fortunately for us, the guy who got 2nd in the 35-39 age group uploaded his run onto Strava.
It turns out the "5k" was really a 4.56 km (or about 2.8 miles). That 17:36 for 2.8 miles converts to 19:25 for 5k, so that's almost 2 minutes less than the alleged 5k course that they ran. Still solid for non-runners who are pushing 200 lbs, but definitely too good to be true.
I'm a huge CrossFit fan, but as a runner first, I couldn't believe those sub-18 times without verifying. Now we have evidence that shows the course was definitely short by over 400m. Anyways, when the top-40 individual athletes race this 5k next week, add about 9% to their reported time and that'll be how fast they actually would have run a 5k.
You've nailed it. Very fair. Considering how big they are...and all the stuff that has come before...they do very well. They are much better runners than they used to be.
for such a well organized, large scale, well marketed event, it almost seems intentional to make it short?
Most people won’t know or care that it’s 500m short, and will just see times and be more impressed with the “fittest people in earth”
I posted before asking (sarcastically) if they'd go through the dog park, and they most certainly went through the dog park, where they could have easily gained enough distance to make it legit.
for such a well organized, large scale, well marketed event, it almost seems intentional to make it short?
Most people won’t know or care that it’s 500m short, and will just see times and be more impressed with the “fittest people in earth”
I think they made it short in some weird rationale to make it more impressive. Its the only explanations as the distances allways end up shorter in events like this. A real shame, as the times are pretty good without manipulation 😊
That's the part I don't get. ~18:00(men)/20:00(women) are fantastic times for bigger folks who aren't training for the distance. Why not just run a legit 5k?
Haters gonna HATE.
In reality, this course was technically challenging due to packed GRAVEL, inclines, weather (BRUTAL sun), etc. So they shortened it slightly so it compares to a regular XC course that most of you hobby "SLOGGERS" (= slow joggers) can related to.
And yeah, what is your OH squat? Most of these RIPPED/SHREDDED guys can do 300+ lbs and won't even break a sweat.
for such a well organized, large scale, well marketed event, it almost seems intentional to make it short?
Most people won’t know or care that it’s 500m short, and will just see times and be more impressed with the “fittest people in earth”
I think they made it short in some weird rationale to make it more impressive. Its the only explanations as the distances allways end up shorter in events like this. A real shame, as the times are pretty good without manipulation 😊
The times would be good for a unit, but sub par compared to their main competitor Hyrox which probably stings.
Even so, 500m short, like c’mon guys WTF? Will they do a 3 lap mile next?