Should Parker Valby switch to the triathlon after college?

Her going out and running a 30s PR is setting up the race perfectly for cranny and Schweitzer to sit and kick… that type of fast but not super hard pace is exactly what they want. Get rid of the randomness of who has the best 600 but also not remotely hard enough to put a lot of strain on them.

The problem with asking this question in a serious manner on letsrun is the lack of proper respect for triathlon here so it comes off as a purposely insulting question even if not intended.

People don't have to be fast swimmers for olympic-distance triathlons, it's so short it can be made up on bike/run.

ie. Gwen hates swimming and why she tried to switch unsuccessfully to pure running.

Parker's definitely going under 15 for the 5000 which on a national level is fantastic but on an international level useless now until much closer to 14 which isn't likely happening.

Nothing wrong with being a national-level 5000m specialist if Nike is still willing to pay her.

She also cannot go under 31 in the 10000m/10K without much more base so she's stuck there until she solves the injury problems.

Not sure where 5'9" came from but if accurate she is so lean that might explain the injury potential.

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Years ago, I looked up Gwen Jorgensen's swimming results. I know G Jorgensen didn't quit swimming before 9th grade. I don't believe anyone on this site knows how well P Valby can swim. I am certain G Jorgensen has superior S&D personal bests compared to P Valby. A lot of good swimmers psychologically burn out. Just because G Jorgensen needed a break from swimming doesn't make her a bad swimmer. If anyone knows how fast P Valby can swim, we will then know if chasing 5000m glory, T&F is best or not.

Ah yes, the LRC classic.."switch to the triathlon" is always the call for any injury prone runner on here. People need to get a clue. Triathlon has come a long way in the last 5-10 years. Internationally, it isn't quite the backup sport it used to be. The people are extremely talented/capable across all three disciplines.

Unless she has a serious swimming background already, this would be an uphill battle. 75mins on an arc trainer and some 40min swims do not make a triathlete. Additionally, the addition of the high intensity work on the bike required for the repeated surges of the criterium style riding found in draft legal racing would have an impact on her ability to sustain high quality running on her other days. There are a lot of question marks here other than "should she switch?"

There was an interview (I think with that Oregon influencer girl) where Parker said she HATES cycling

She cross trains like a madwoman, but it's all elliptical and ARC trainer...

I'm sure she'd be amazing at tri but I don't think she wants that

Lukas Verzbicas

Running IS superior to triathlon. It is also insanely competitive and Valby will most likely never be a top international athlete. But she might be - you never know.

You really need to be a good cyclist to be a good triathlete. The bike is the longest of the three disciplines. I do some cycling, and I always find it interesting to see that I generally bike around as fast as Mary Cain on Zwift. (I am a masters female, decent runner and extremely slow cyclist.) Cain famously decided to become a triathlete before giving it up. There was also this skepticism among triathletes about whether she was really a good swimmer. I can easily believe she was an excellent swimmer. But I think she never had a prayer in tri because she is not a good cyclist.

I'm worried a marathon for Valby would snap her shin in half.

Cyclocross

Runners - "We are gods and triathletes are slow dorks that buy performance with expensive gear!"

Triathletes - "If I was a better runner, I'd do that and have more time in my day."

Regular Folks - "Have you ever seen an Ironman? Those people are bada$$! and buff! Runners are annoying little sh**birds that should probably eat more".

Sponsors - "We love triathlon! The sport allows us huge logos on our athlete's kits, unlike World Athletics, and hours of advertising during televised long distance events. We get super exposure in North America, Europe and Asia. It's a great ROI for us!".

Ridiculous. Look at Katie Ledecky 6 feet, 160 lbs. Great upper body strength. That's your prototype swimmer. Swimming is mostly arms not legs. Valby is all legs. She's the best female natural distance runner the USA has seen. Let it be.

She has access to an Alter-G. She stated specifically in a post-race interview that she’s “not a fan.” She chooses the arc-trainer.

Nope

Hard to say without knowing more about her cross training or her swimming background. I think pure runners underestimate how competitive short course triathlon is & how you can piece together a decent living by attracting more than one main sponsor. Without a good swim, you're confined to long course. Having a good swim, a lot of the time, comes down to being a good youth swimmer. It's harder & harder to pick up as you get older. The training certainly seems to suit her but she's still pro level running good off of low mileage. She still has time to try to figure out how to get the mileage up so she can be even better as a pro. Gwen was 19th at NCAA XC Champs in 2008. I think that was her best result. I think that's usually more the type of runner USA Triathlon is looking for -- someone who could be a pro runner but probably wouldn't be able to make a living off of it. Plus swimming in their athletic background. Biking is easier to pick up with a big aerobic base & ability to spend some time in the saddle.

The simple answer is that Nike would never let her. Nike gave her a big NIL deal so she could have on a Nike kit if she makes it to Paris in 2024 and Nike is certainly banking on her going to the LA OGs in 2028. While there is money in triathlons, if she switched, she would probably have to start from scratch on sponsorship.

Also, she has been improving physically. Her coaches and physios are doing a very good job at keeping her at a top level of fitness while keeping her injury at bay. I think it is way too soon to conclude that 2-3 runs a week is as good as it gets for Valby. There are many examples of top athletes who have made it through chronic injuries to be able to train as much as anyone else.

Stephanie, while she "might" be able to do well at Triathlon (with proper training), her potential in that sport is mostly an "unknown quantity". Whereas, her potential in running is much more of a "known quantity" (with no guarantees of course in this unforgiving sport). What we already know is: She is basically capable of 15:00 flat for 5000m currently, while still in college, while only running 3 days per week and cross training at sea level, while training in a hot hellish climate of Florida with few running peers to run with. Wouldn't it make more sense to go pro, move to altitude, GENTLY, GENTLY attempt to up running frequency and/or mileage, while making only minor, methodical adjustments to her current formula? My 2 cents. :-)

Yeah, move to Oregon and race twice a year. Oh, wait.