Hall's Slow Mile Proves We're Not Like Swimming

It is nearly impossible to "PROVE" anything, however data can support certain theories.

This is really silly.

There would be very, very few true current world-class marathon runners who could run a 4 min. mile when prepared. Even Steve Jones, who wasn't exactly a speed merchant ran about 4 flat in the Emsley Carr Mile in England, after establishing himself as a distance runner, and he was never a 4 min runner like Hall when he was younger.

It's most unlikely that Hall thought he was going to run a 4:00 (or near it) last week. I suspect he was doing to go with his wife, have some fun, and get a feel of the pace, and just pushed it early to take the guys out at a decent pace, then shut it down.

There would be no question that a guy like this can get back to run what he did in college if he has time to focus on it. True world-class distance runners are not plodders.

I remember a top English marathon runner, Mike Gratton, turning up to run against us for his club in a track league meet. He filled in on the last leg in the 4 x 400m. We had a decent (say 51:0ish) runner on the last leg, and thought it was going to be hilarious, but Gratton dusted him and ran near 50:00 flat on a bad cinder track.

Hall's legs were simply baked after a recent marathon. Hall does have a 3:41 1500 PR and was a fast high school miler.

BTW, Bill Rogers had a 4:15 pr for the mile.

People are reading way too much into this.

Ryan Hall's slow mile proves we're not like swimming.

Ryan Hall's slow mile proves we're not = to swimming.

Ryan Hall's slow mile proves we are not = to swimming.

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Correct: We are not = to swimmers.

Runners are not = to swimmers.

Ryan Hall's slow mile proves we're not like swimmers.

One of the frustrations I have as a life long swimmer is the ridiculous amount of ignorance around swimming. People need to accept the fact that Phelps is a once in a lifetime athlete and that we'll probably not see his like again. Accept that what he did in Beijing was otherworldly and will probably never happen again. Also get in a pool and try to keep up with an average 12 year old age grouper and accept that swimming is hard as hell. Then try to do a 400 IM and accept that you have no effing clue what you're talking about.

Reality check please wrote:

What evidence do you have that a competitive 10km swimmer would jump into a race and be competitive in the 400m, and vice versa? You've proven nothing.

Chloe Sutton comes close, though her 400M speed has come a bit later than her open water success- picking up 10K medals at the international level at age 14, #3 world ranking in the 400M free in 2010 a few years later while still doing open water seriously.