What pro-cyclists have tried running marathons other than Lance Armstrong and how fast have they run? Also, if Lance had been doping for the NYC marathon how much faster do you think he would he have run?
What pro-cyclists have tried running marathons other than Lance Armstrong and how fast have they run? Also, if Lance had been doping for the NYC marathon how much faster do you think he would he have run?
Zersenay Tadese. He has the half-marathon WR now.
If Lance had doped? Probably not faster at all.
I'm surprised that Lance didn't run faster. With drugs (or without, I don't care) he had one of the strongest aerobic bases along with a huge V02max.
Apparently, back in 2006 he ran a 18:20 5K.
Check out this thread:
sprint7 wrote:
Zersenay Tadese. He has the half-marathon WR now.
"He became interested in cycling in his teenage years and, after winning a number of races, he set his sights upon becoming a professional cyclist in Europe. However, the races of 30–50 km fell short of the distances needed to compete on the European circuit and he was ill-prepared for a transition to top-level cycling." (wikipedia)
So he tried to become a pro cyclist but didn't end up as one.
Laurent Jalabert, Uto Bolts, Rolf Aldag, and Steve Larsen come to mind. I believe all have cracked 2:50. Don't know that any have gone under 2:40 but all were more triathlon focused (Larsen as a pro) rather than pure runners.
Rumor has it that Armstrong didn't train very seriously for any of his marathons to date.
Devilish wrote:
I'm surprised that Lance didn't run faster. With drugs (or without, I don't care) he had one of the strongest aerobic bases along with a huge V02max.
Lance ran Marathons "in between" his cycling career and wasn't in full training mode. Had he trained for years he'd probably have the potential to go sub 2:30.
Citizen Runner wrote:
Laurent Jalabert, Uto Bolts, Rolf Aldag, and Steve Larsen come to mind. I believe all have cracked 2:50. Don't know that any have gone under 2:40 but all were more triathlon focused (Larsen as a pro) rather than pure runners.
Rumor has it that Armstrong didn't train very seriously for any of his marathons to date.
Rumour has it he was also doped to the gills.
Oh and not one of those cyclists you mention cracked 2:50. If they did, I would love for you to show me a results.
Jan Ullrich wrote:
Rumour has it he was also doped to the gills.
I doubt he was "doping" outside of his cycling career. He was probably still taking testosterone since his body is not able to produce enough naturally (only one ball). But that is legitimate and probably backed by doctors prescription.
I think Lance started out doing triathlons as a teenager, but was so much better on the bike than running that he became a full-time professional cyclist.
I think it would be very rare to have enough natural talent in both running and cycling to be able to choose between being a professional runner or a professional cyclist (leaving the whole question of doping aside).
And the years of training to get to the top level in one sport wouldn't necessarily transfer to the other as Lance's marathons show.
Speculator wrote:
I think Lance started out doing triathlons as a teenager, but was so much better on the bike than running that he became a full-time professional cyclist.
Sure? Swimming was probably his worst discipline as it is for most triathletes.
[/quote]
Rumour has it he was also doped to the gills.
Oh and not one of those cyclists you mention cracked 2:50. If they did, I would love for you to show me a results.[/quote]
Larsen has at least two documented 10Ks in the low 33s, I think that indicates he could have run sub-2:40, but true he never did.
RIP Steve
Hamburg 2006:
88 - Aldag, Rolf Net: 02:42:54
Gross: 02:42:57
Total Place: 134
Place in AC 35: 25
Place male/female: 118
Half 1: 01:19:03
Half 2: 01:23:51
10km: 00:37:18
20km: 01:14:27 (00:37:09)
30km: 01:53:13 (00:38:46)
40km: 02:33:25 (00:40:12)
You know, it's strange that Rolf Aldag finished 9th in the bike section of the triathlon he did considering how good he is and all...
Jalabert is still getting some pretty good results:
10km of Villemur-sur-Tarn (6th / 35'32'')
Semi-marathon of Marrakech (123rd / 1h17'40'')
Trail of the Fountains at Montat 30km (2nd / 2h10'06'')
Semi-Marathon of Paris (1h16'20'')
Semi-Marathon of Auch (59th / 1h23'32'')
Marathon of Paris (1343rd / 3h03'30'')
A 1:16 half definitely indicates better speed than his "best" (I haven't looked up every result) marathon of 2:55. Interesting considering I would think his endurance would be better than his speed...
Citizen Runner wrote:
Laurent Jalabert, Uto Bolts, Rolf Aldag, and Steve Larsen come to mind. I believe all have cracked 2:50. Don't know that any have gone under 2:40 but all were more triathlon focused (Larsen as a pro) rather than pure runners.
Rumor has it that Armstrong didn't train very seriously for any of his marathons to date.
Jan Ullrich wrote:
Rumour has it he was also doped to the gills.
Oh and not one of those cyclists you mention cracked 2:50. If they did, I would love for you to show me a results.
Laurent Jalabert - Barcelona Marathon 2007 (2:45:52)
Rolf Aldag - Hamburg Marathon 2006 (2:42:54)
Abraham Olano - San Sebastian Marathon 2006 (2:39:19)
How good is he?
sprint7 wrote:You know, it's strange that Rolf Aldag finished 9th in the bike section of the triathlon he did considering how good he is and all...
ex-rgs wrote:
A 1:16 half definitely indicates better speed than his "best" (I haven't looked up every result) marathon of 2:55. Interesting considering I would think his endurance would be better than his speed...
Wrong thinking. Plenty of cyclist showing up for road races in the winter and they sometimes run in the 17/35min range without much specific training. But when you run a half you got all that pounding. And even going further, a full, that's a whole different story.
My experience: the shorter the race, the more you can get away with crosstraining a lot.
Udo Bölts, not Uto Bolts. Suspect it was just a typo.
Citizen Runner wrote:
Laurent Jalabert, Uto Bolts, Rolf Aldag, and Steve Larsen come to mind. I believe all have cracked 2:50. Don't know that any have gone under 2:40 but all were more triathlon focused (Larsen as a pro) rather than pure runners.
Rumor has it that Armstrong didn't train very seriously for any of his marathons to date.
FWIW, Former pro-cyclists run/compete just for the fun of it. Something to do at a semi-competitive recreational sport level. Don't take training too seriously. 5-10hrs per week vs. 30+ for cycling plus travel is why they do it. Use it for fun and to stay in shape. When you race at a pro/elite level for ~15 years there is no desire to try and do it all over again in another sport.
I still find it interesting that there are plenty of world class nordic skiers (which is possibly an even less participated in sport world wide than cycling) who are or have been very solid runners. I think Bjorn Daehlie ran 30:30ish for 10k back in the day and there are others whose names escape me right now who have cracked 30 and yet I haven't heard of any world class or national class cyclists who have run times even approaching that same level. Granted, nordic skiers run more than cyclists as cross training, but you would think that in the history of cycling there would at least be a few who have cracked 2:30 in the marathon or have at least cracked 32:00 in a 10k. There's got to be some who have done this?