Who has enough talent to run in olympics?

ha, I'm a collegiate runner on scholarship and I know my slow ass is never going to the olympics... I think TALENT (ie genetics) is what seperates a runner from the pack. Not that hard work isn't important, but some people are just genetic freaks... made to run or some shit.

It takes talent, but not as much physical talent as a lot of people think. A lot of it is about mental talent. Do you believe that you are good enough? Do you know what it takes in training to be that good? Do you know how to race nearly perfectly? Do you know how to take care of your body? So much of running is just "having it" mentally.

That is the most sensible, well thought, perfectly written post I have EVER read. You could not be more right. Nice...

An interesting post.

I recall once a room of dozens of young American middle distance runners. The man leading the group asked, "How many people here think they have what it takes to make it the Olympics?"

One or two hands go up.

"Now if I was in Kenya, talking infront of a bunch of Kenyans, every hand would go up. If I was talking to an inner city youth-basketball team, and asked how many of you think you've got what it takes to make it the NBA, every hand would go up. They believe that they can do it. That's the problem with America's runners; they don't believe that they can."

Trackhead, very good memory. Maybe you learned something from me out there after all.

Many do have the physical talent, but oh so very few have the mental capacity and will to do it.

Do you remember the story of Peter Snell watching Percy Cerutty run a mile and what he said to Peter afterwards?

I remember Cerutty and Herb Elliot.

Before the meet, Herb and Percy would go to the track and Herb would watch his coach belt out four laps with all his might. Percy would finish, totally spent, foaming at the mouth, on the verge of collapse, and say to his athlete,

"You may run faster, Herb, but you'll never run harder!"

Very good, very good. You do remember........

And why does this have relevance in this thread you ask? Because Cerutty knew that Snell had the physical talent to be the champion he eventually became, but he wasn't entirely sure that Snell had the "mindset" to be able to push himself mentally, day in and day out, to make that final step. The world quickly found the answer, as did Cerutty.

People are always talking about "talent" like it's this one, set tangible thing. It's not. It's a combination of things, and one of those is the mental aspect. The history of the Olympics are filled with individuals with excellent, but not great or awesome, physical talent but who possessed truly awe-inspiring mental tenacity and a believe in self.

How is your running going these days?

senilty sucks and so did most of those old stories

Old man wrote:

People are always talking about "talent" like it's this one, set tangible thing. It's not. It's a combination of things, and one of those is the mental aspect. The history of the Olympics are filled with individuals with excellent, but not great or awesome, physical talent but who possessed truly awe-inspiring mental tenacity and a believe in self.

Thats cool, I like that

Better then ever.

I know that I'm a late bloomer. I have a feeling my best times won't come til my late 20's early 30's. If I stick with it, I think I could qualify for the trials in either the 800 or 1500. It all depends if I'm able to continue running after college.

The sadness of senility is manifest in first confusing Peter Snell with Herb Elliot, then even when this error is made obvious, in repeating the error with pompous assurance.

Having a capacity to break one's a-- in trainign without getting injured too badly surely figures into the "talent" mix.

I believe the mental aspects come into play to separate the very good from the best. However, talent is what gets you to the very good level to begin with. To quote Carl Lewis: "I have heard that running is 90% mental. Well, you can be mentally great, but slow, and you will be slow. The mental approach & focus only separates those that already have it genetically." However, we don't know who has it genetically if we don't give it a shot. Unlike sprints, distance running reveals it's talents at different times, and sometimes only after years of hard work. You may reach for the stars and come up empty, but one thing is for sure, if you reach for nothing, you sure won't get the stars. Go for it!

When you mentioned the confidence that Kenyan's have and the confidence that American's lack, you might be correct, but think of the different circumstances that individuals come from. US is a western civilization, where African countries unfortunately are behind... Running is a way to get a better life, in America running is a hobby, that you do a side when you live your sweat sweat life.

Think of European countries after World War I & II, Lot of good runners, dominated the field... the economy picked up and they "lost that confidence."

The fact is that in America most of us are provided with better cards from the beginning, with more opportunities other than running, which in my opinion produces this feeling of security... It's the motivation of a better life that drives Kenyans as a thight big group!

Let's not go overboard. I would say physical ability or lack thereof weeds out more would-be Olympians than the mental aspects. The mental strength starts mattering once you've separated out most of the chaff.

I'm sure we've all seen the guys who work themselves into a mental frenzy, despite their physical shortcomings, go out on the track believing they'll win, and... still lose.

Further, just because a lot of kis raise their hands in class, I don't see THAT many Kenyans going pro in anything. Ditto for the NBA or NFL.

Good call. I think it's very similar to the situation that I see with kids in the inner city (Baltimore for me) playing basketball all day long. You know exactly what they are thinking...not necessarily money, but the opportunity to be a star, to get a "better" life.

For American runners, commitment to the sport almost always involves great sacrifice.

How many North Americans are going to run 200 miles next

week at 6,000 feet? None.

How many Japanese are going to run 200 miles next week at

6,000 feet? Just the ones that want to run sub 2:08 and

sub 2:20.