Can ANY able-bodied 18-45yo man train and achieve a sub-3 marathon?

No. Even if a man was thin, and trained for years with a great coach, there is no guarantee that they would break 3 hours in a marathon.

People are born with huge differences in natural talent. There is a limit to what hard work can achieve.

5%

No. And for the thousandth time, they couldn’t all run a sub 5 mile or sub 18 5K either.

No. Maybe half can’t even run one sub 7 minute mile let alone 26 of them. Just like not everyone can be a doctor if they just study hard enough let alone have high enough IQ to get in to the army.

It can be hard to imagine if you are gifted with a high vo2 and running economy or high iq that not everyone is like you. We also tend to surround ourselves with people like us, which makes it even harder to imagine.

3:00 no

3:07 yes. you don't even need to run a 3:07 thon to be able to run a 3:07 thon.

Absolutely not.

Probably less of 5% of people who run Marathons can run under 3 hours. The number might be even lower. And from all people not even 5% even try running a Marathon.

LOL, ouch.

I don’t trust your analysis — this is way more than the thousandth time.

These threads are always dumb. The answer is always no. Some people just aren't good at running, nor have the mental strength to push through a marathon. And that's okay. The marathon is a special kind of self torture.

I haven't gone sub 18 yet, but I'm almost certain I have the ability to get there. If I prove myself right does that mean I'm above average in innate talent even as guy in my 20s? Or would I just prove to be average talent putting in more effort than most?

I believe Arthur Lydiard once said he could get any healthy young male sub-3, but this is probably both a bit of hyperbole and premised on "young" being more like 18-25. It was also during an era of considerably less obesity and more active youth lifestyles.

Can ANY able-bodied 18-45yo man train and achieve a 300 lb bench press??

Come on, you scrawny 125 lb runners, put down those 8 lb dumbbells and let's see this 300!

Yes indeed.

He probably said that in the 60ies or 70ies.
Now only 20% of the US population are normal weight.

I was sub 4:50 mile, low 17s 5k, low 36 10k, 1:21ish half and I haven’t gotten within 10 minutes of 3hrs. I should be able to but lots of should fall apart in 3hrs.

No. I was in a running group for about 15 years and saw a lot of guys come and go who wanted that sub 3 or even the Boston qualifier (back then, sub 3:10 would get it done) and never got it done. They were well within the body type needed (not to big boned, not too tall, etc.). They had the training plan from a pro runner. They were very dedicated and raced 2-3 marathons a year and did shorter races. They were chasing faster runners in training. But they just couldn't get there. Not everyone can develop the cardiovascular engine and the endurance needed to get to a sub 3 marathon. There is a level of natural ability that is a prerequisite. And body type also matters. I ran with a guy who was a 800 m runner in college. He was pretty jacked but could run a 16:30 5k and a sub 80 half. But as soon as he got over 18 miles, his tank would immediately go to empty. 3:15 was the best he could do at the marathon.

Yes depending on the person. Don't let letsrun dissuade you just go for it

Depending on the person? So your answer is no, not ANY able-bodied 18-45 year old can break 3.

Well, obviously not. You said "excluding disabilities" but does that count normal people who are just 25% below average? What about 40% below? The bell-curve has half of humanity on the left, you know.

What about guys who are built super short and stocky? What about super tall and prone to tons of tendon and ligament issues? What about just being naturally jacked and like 210 lbs with tons of muscle? What about people who have huge, heavy skeletons? What about people who have smallish (but normal) lungs and sort of below-average hearts? What about people whose frontal cortex is damaged but still normal (and can't stay motivated to do anything hard)?

There are millions of ways to be "normal" and still not a good runner.

LOL. Also LOL. A lot of them are really going to have to work to get a single 6:52 mile, never mind 26 of them.