Gerry Lindgren's 16:08 four miler

Kasey Sele wrote:

The outcome of the race would probably have been the same, with Billy Mills winning the gold, but they would have set a world record that may still be there. I had an opportunity to make some of the best runners in the world better and I didn't do it.

Lindgren is a notorious kook, but that statement there is the most arrogant thing I have ever seen attributed to him.

that just made my day, thanks.

haha what the hell was his 5k split then?

He made the same claim on letsrun a few years ago.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=1592045&thread=1591069

mighty porn stache wrote:

Kasey Sele wrote:

The outcome of the race would probably have been the same, with Billy Mills winning the gold, but they would have set a world record that may still be there. I had an opportunity to make some of the best runners in the world better and I didn't do it.

Lindgren is a notorious kook, but that statement there is the most arrogant thing I have ever seen attributed to him.

Listen, "Stache," you are known on this board from ranging to informative, to asshole.

So, give us your real name, and then we can post that you are known to be a "notorious asshole."

I will tell you something; if you ever met Lindgren in person and sat down and conversed with him -- you would not come away thinking he is a "notorious kook."

You'd be shocked to realize that while the guy has done and said some eyebrow raising things -- he's actually probably a genius.

I no longer know him, but once did. He is one of the most charismatic people I've ever met. He is also wicked smart, wicked funny, and off the charts generous. His family situation - no one knows all the internals of that - certainly not a path most would take. But is it yours to judge? While I would not do what he did, I won't condemn him either -- I have not run a mile in his shoes...

The world, and people, are a little more complex than your two dimensional thinking.

Now take some time to think about all that. If you have the dimension to do so.

Maybe you should all just give it a rest. Or better still, accomplish half of what this guy did before you continue with the stone throwing.

the mere fact that you all are actually entertaining the idea that a guy ran a 12.30 5km (and another 1400m on top of that) on a cross country course back in the 60's, just shows what a true bunch of muppets you guys actually are.

he's a liar and left his family. Some good times don't erase that.

Anyone that isn't a scum bag is more accomplished than jerry the asshole.

the man was an unreal talent. give him a break. he may or may not have done it. don't ridicule him about it. he obviously knew how to run more than most or all of us do. show respect.

my opinion? i'm on the fence about it. course could have been short. not his fault.

furthermore, with the mileage that he was doing, one day fresh could have produced tremendous results. Not necessarily a 16:08, but he could have darn well possibly run 16:30 or faster.

On the fence?

He didn't do it. End of story.

well check it outt wrote:

the man was an unreal talent. give him a break. he may or may not have done it. don't ridicule him about it. he obviously knew how to run more than most or all of us do. show respect.

my opinion? i'm on the fence about it. course could have been short. not his fault.

furthermore, with the mileage that he was doing, one day fresh could have produced tremendous results. Not necessarily a 16:08, but he could have darn well possibly run 16:30 or faster.

You are a muppet too(since that is the word of the day in this thread). 16:30 at Mt. Sac?

ldp wrote:

http://www.signedsincerelyyours.com/images/_products/giftdropship/HHCC5_800.jpg

Perfect.

I believe I read that his time was actually 18:08, or around 14:00 5k pace, which is still fast but not unbelievable like 16:08.

GL is indeed a kook, but that's not a completely bad thing. I had a teacher in HS that was probably just as crazy and he was great. I think letsrun should probably just keep quiet about GL's personal life.

How do people think that he could have been even close to this? He was never close to that pace on the track for a 5k, thats for 1 reason he was not capable.

I don't know why anyone would like this guy. Great he ran a lot and had some good times. But he wasn't an olympic champ and he as a person is a total jerk.

well check it outt wrote:

the man was an unreal talent. give him a break. he may or may not have done it. don't ridicule him about it. he obviously knew how to run more than most or all of us do. show respect.

my opinion? i'm on the fence about it. course could have been short. not his fault.

furthermore, with the mileage that he was doing, one day fresh could have produced tremendous results. Not necessarily a 16:08, but he could have darn well possibly run 16:30 or faster.

May or may not have done it?!?!?! Think about what you are saying here?!?! He's saying he ran 4 miles on a cross country course going through 5000m 7 seconds faster than the current world record?!?! In 1960. On grass. And he ran nearly 1500m more at the same pace after doing it.

I don't even believe I am reading this - this is like some sort of friggin bizaro-world thread where you idiots are trying to convince me that 2+2=7.5

That's an interview I did with Gerry a few years ago. Some fun stuff in there.

I did "Letsrun research" on this topic and found the thread where Jack Daniels verified Lindgren's 350-mile week.

Isn't that just as unbelievable as a 16:08 4-mile race?

no350 mile week = stupidity but certainly beleivable/doablebreaking the 40 year future wr on grass and continuing on for another mile at the same pace = lie

Tony Soprano wrote:

http://www.runnervision.com/mtsys/mt-search.cgi?search=Lindgren&IncludeBlogs=1&IncludeBlogs=3&IncludeBlogs=5

That's an interview I did with Gerry a few years ago. Some fun stuff in there.

I did "Letsrun research" on this topic and found the thread where Jack Daniels verified Lindgren's 350-mile week.

Isn't that just as unbelievable as a 16:08 4-mile race?

Tony Soprano wrote:

I did "Letsrun research" on this topic and found the thread where Jack Daniels verified Lindgren's 350-mile week.

Isn't that just as unbelievable as a 16:08 4-mile race?

No, 350 miles is insane but is physically possible. Hell, Dean K could do it (and I'm no fan of Dean K). 16:08 _is not possible_. End of story. It's not that I don't think Gerry L could have done it. It's that I don't think anyone could have done it, then or now.

Name one other time he ran, EVER, that suggests that he could run that type of time, even on the track, let alone trails.

When I ran 13:44 for 5K the world record for 5K was 13:38. The record is now around 12:38 and the high school world record ought to be 12:44 or better.

Awesome stuff that never gets old!