Well, the twins are probably spending as much time in the library between classes and practice as their older brother spent in ice baths and normatec boots to keep up with the "student" part of "student-athlete" at their respective institutions of higher learning.
Something to remember is that these guys are still only 19 years old. I distinctly remember the discourse a couple years ago about if Mike Smith was failing Nico and now we can look back and see his NCAA record(s?), him making the US Olympic team at 21 yo, etc. TLDR; development isn’t linear.
Nico was 4th at NCAA XC his freshman year and ran like 13:11 his sophomore year IIRC. He was always going to be better than the twins, but that’s still a different world than 70th and 13:37.
This is a silly hindsight post. Both Lex & Leo ran faster than Nico at every grade level. There was no indication Nico “was always going to be better” until they got to college.
It's interesting to see the difference in body type between Nico and the twins. Nico is built like a rail, completely narrow through the hips. The twins are stockier and shorter. They have the engine but not the body. They've already achieved so much with just that, but to be the best of the best you need both.
Well, to this point, I agree.
Although, when their careers are over, we may find L&L were just as good or better in the 1500/5000 (maybe even Steeple) while Nico may turn out to be the greatest US 10k - road racer - marathoner ever.
Here is a pic of Lex from his Gans Creek xc race back in September. Only visual difference between Lex & Leo at this point is Leo wears the white headband and keeps his hair a bit shorter. You would never know from this photo that he/Leo are Nico's brothers. "Stockier and shorter" to say the least.
Remember hearing in the past that Charles Hicks and Ky Robinson used to design their own training plan at Stanford. We can assume that the standard and quality of training was higher under Brosnan at NP than at Stanford just by looking at the times. Lets not forget that Cole Sprout was one of the most impressive HS runners ever, and he hasn't been able to get anywhere near the likes of Nico (where would he be if he went to NAU?). The twins were objectively quicker than Nico in HS also. Nico and Colin developed extremely well at NAU, Aaron not so much, but I don't think he takes it seriously anyways. I think L&L would be significantly quicker if they committed to NAU. I'm guessing here, but the twins seem more like the "frat" type, I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.
Also just want to say that you guys basing this difference entirely on 'talent' are stupid.
Remember hearing in the past that Charles Hicks and Ky Robinson used to design their own training plan at Stanford. We can assume that the standard and quality of training was higher under Brosnan at NP than at Stanford just by looking at the times. Lets not forget that Cole Sprout was one of the most impressive HS runners ever, and he hasn't been able to get anywhere near the likes of Nico (where would he be if he went to NAU?). The twins were objectively quicker than Nico in HS also. Nico and Colin developed extremely well at NAU, Aaron not so much, but I don't think he takes it seriously anyways. I think L&L would be significantly quicker if they committed to NAU. I'm guessing here, but the twins seem more like the "frat" type, I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.
Also just want to say that you guys basing this difference entirely on 'talent' are stupid.
You are guessing here and I’m not aware of any HS runner at their level that chose to party over trying to reach their potential. What does their slacking look like? Do they sleep in instead of going for a morning run and blow off the Sunday long run? Is their coach in on it, too?
If I was to guess here, I would attribute their meh running in college to early physical maturity.
Remember hearing in the past that Charles Hicks and Ky Robinson used to design their own training plan at Stanford. We can assume that the standard and quality of training was higher under Brosnan at NP than at Stanford just by looking at the times. Lets not forget that Cole Sprout was one of the most impressive HS runners ever, and he hasn't been able to get anywhere near the likes of Nico (where would he be if he went to NAU?). The twins were objectively quicker than Nico in HS also. Nico and Colin developed extremely well at NAU, Aaron not so much, but I don't think he takes it seriously anyways. I think L&L would be significantly quicker if they committed to NAU. I'm guessing here, but the twins seem more like the "frat" type, I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.
Also just want to say that you guys basing this difference entirely on 'talent' are stupid.
You are guessing here and I’m not aware of any HS runner at their level that chose to party over trying to reach their potential. What does their slacking look like? Do they sleep in instead of going for a morning run and blow off the Sunday long run? Is their coach in on it, too?
If I was to guess here, I would attribute their meh running in college to early physical maturity.
The partying is a tiny part of what I said, it doesn't need to be a variable at all to explain the rest.
Remember hearing in the past that Charles Hicks and Ky Robinson used to design their own training plan at Stanford. We can assume that the standard and quality of training was higher under Brosnan at NP than at Stanford just by looking at the times. Lets not forget that Cole Sprout was one of the most impressive HS runners ever, and he hasn't been able to get anywhere near the likes of Nico (where would he be if he went to NAU?). The twins were objectively quicker than Nico in HS also. Nico and Colin developed extremely well at NAU, Aaron not so much, but I don't think he takes it seriously anyways. I think L&L would be significantly quicker if they committed to NAU. I'm guessing here, but the twins seem more like the "frat" type, I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.
Also just want to say that you guys basing this difference entirely on 'talent' are stupid.
Agreed. He has been running slower. But on the flip side, his degree is from Stanford and not NAU
You are guessing here and I’m not aware of any HS runner at their level that chose to party over trying to reach their potential. What does their slacking look like? Do they sleep in instead of going for a morning run and blow off the Sunday long run? Is their coach in on it, too?
If I was to guess here, I would attribute their meh running in college to early physical maturity.
The partying is a tiny part of what I said, it doesn't need to be a variable at all to explain the rest.
You attribute their relatively poor performance to lack of effort:
“ I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.”
That they are doing training that isn’t “stimulating improvement”, is very unlikely. Runners reach a plateau when physical maturity ends and not because of any particular training. One of the posters said the twins are running repeat miles. Many great runners have reached their potential doing them. Others have run repeat 400s. There are a wide range of effective training approaches and the twins don’t need a precise one to run well.
The partying is a tiny part of what I said, it doesn't need to be a variable at all to explain the rest.
You attribute their relatively poor performance to lack of effort:
“ I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.”
That they are doing training that isn’t “stimulating improvement”, is very unlikely. Runners reach a plateau when physical maturity ends and not because of any particular training. One of the posters said the twins are running repeat miles. Many great runners have reached their potential doing them. Others have run repeat 400s. There are a wide range of effective training approaches and the twins don’t need a precise one to run well.
I didn't say lack of effort. I said lack of optimal training. You're clearly not at this level as you don't seem to understand, so I'm going to end the conversation here.
They said in an interview last year that their lives during the high school years were far more professional. At Stanford they had to deal with roommates and eating (they can't rely on their Mom anymore) and the change was hard for them. Perhaps they've resettled themselves, but I recall them saying they couldn't go to bed early anymore because the roommates are normal people who live more normal hours. I suspect they will figure it out, or perhaps they already have as 13:37 indoors, running the last 2k very hard does not seem like the failure that some here are making it out to be. As well, body difference between them and their older brother is meaningless. They are different people with different strengths.
You attribute their relatively poor performance to lack of effort:
“ I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.”
That they are doing training that isn’t “stimulating improvement”, is very unlikely. Runners reach a plateau when physical maturity ends and not because of any particular training. One of the posters said the twins are running repeat miles. Many great runners have reached their potential doing them. Others have run repeat 400s. There are a wide range of effective training approaches and the twins don’t need a precise one to run well.
I didn't say lack of effort. I said lack of optimal training. You're clearly not at this level as you don't seem to understand, so I'm going to end the conversation here.
I responded directly to your attributing their performance to lack of optimal training by pointing out that there is a wide range of effective training.
Im not at your level and not worthy of conversation? That’s a stupid insult. Everything you posted is pure speculation based on nothing at all other than the twins aren’t running well.
Nothing to say about the Youngs, but just want to point out the nuttiness of the last decade of time evolution that 13:37 is placing you towards the front of heat #5 of an indoor college meet in December.
Lex ran 3 seconds faster in high school. I’m a big fan of theirs but what is going on?? They’ve been in college long enough and have been mostly injury free the entire time. The Stanford training clearly isn’t working for them very well
The first race of the indoor season probably is not where they should be running PR times. If they are still close to their high school times late in the season, then your your criticism will have a lot more validity.
Remember hearing in the past that Charles Hicks and Ky Robinson used to design their own training plan at Stanford. We can assume that the standard and quality of training was higher under Brosnan at NP than at Stanford just by looking at the times. Lets not forget that Cole Sprout was one of the most impressive HS runners ever, and he hasn't been able to get anywhere near the likes of Nico (where would he be if he went to NAU?). The twins were objectively quicker than Nico in HS also. Nico and Colin developed extremely well at NAU, Aaron not so much, but I don't think he takes it seriously anyways. I think L&L would be significantly quicker if they committed to NAU. I'm guessing here, but the twins seem more like the "frat" type, I imagine they are also enjoying college life (maybe a bit too much), the workload at Stanford is also higher. When you couple that with training that isn't stimulating improvement, you get a plateau.
Also just want to say that you guys basing this difference entirely on 'talent' are stupid.
You are guessing here and I’m not aware of any HS runner at their level that chose to party over trying to reach their potential. What does their slacking look like? Do they sleep in instead of going for a morning run and blow off the Sunday long run? Is their coach in on it, too?
If I was to guess here, I would attribute their meh running in college to early physical maturity.
Good thing the twins didn’t pick NAU. Them being stuck with Cornfield would be devastating for them or any talented runner. We have officially seen them end of an era at NAU.
You are guessing here and I’m not aware of any HS runner at their level that chose to party over trying to reach their potential. What does their slacking look like? Do they sleep in instead of going for a morning run and blow off the Sunday long run? Is their coach in on it, too?
If I was to guess here, I would attribute their meh running in college to early physical maturity.
Good thing the twins didn’t pick NAU. Them being stuck with Cornfield would be devastating for them or any talented runner. We have officially seen them end of an era at NAU.
I think anyone to pick NAU now will be disappointed. NAU had great thing going and has no chance to retain with Mr Cornfield being in charge
hahaha gtfo. aren't you guys the same guys that crapped on Colin Sahlman after only 1 track season and 2 XC seasons. give these kids some time, they just had fantastic races considering its december. the real question is where is aaron sahlman