The record is relatively weak, 8:08.82 by Daniel Lincoln back in '06. Thats only about 8:34-8:37 2 mile pace depending on the finishing kick. I personally think he could do it in 2 races. One for warm up to get used to the jumping. I think he'd go 8:10-12 for the first race and then break the record his second attempt. It would be like Jager just coming in and basically dominating the American scene now, except we all know Lagat is far superior to Jager. Thoughts??
It would take less than 8:08.82
2 weeks is about what I thought.
Your ignorance is evident. There is a skill involved with running steeple that not everybody has - change of pace, interupted rhythm, clearing 250lbs. barriers when fatiqued... I'm not saying Lagat couldn't do it, but it is NOT a guarantee that he is a good steepler.
Similar to climbing Everest, where there is an unknown/untested skill about how your body reacts at altitude. Similarily, not every 3:30 1500m guy can run fast when interupted by barriers every 80m.
It just isn't that simple. Some guys can run 50 sec 400m off of a fast pace and some just can not. Agility and athleticism are a HUGE factor - some are efficient at barriers and some are not, regardless of how fast they are in flat races.
I don't really think it's ignorance. If I were to say Lagat could break the world record in the steeple, that would be ignorant, because that is highly unlikely. But come on, the American record is in fact pretty weak. And as far as pure athletic talent, I would say Lagat is near the top, if not at the top, of all distance runners in any distance event (excluding some 800 runners like Symmonds, who is just an animal.) He has run 7:29 for the 3000m. You really think he couldn't run under almost 40 seconds slower with a few hurdles added in?? Shiiiiiizzzz....
Lagat has way more talent than Symmonds.
I would say 3-4 races. I once knew a Kenyan who had run 13:25, 28:20, 7:50 for 3k, and about 3:45 for 1500m. He eventually ran 8:18 or 8:19 for the steeple. When he started steepling, he ran something like 8:40-8:45 for the first one, but was down to 8:25 within 3-4 steeples.
Given that Lagat's PRs are 30 seconds faster for the 3k and 5k, and almost 20 seconds faster for the 1500, I think Lagat would start with 8:20 and easily have the American record within 3-4 tries. He probably wouldn't run the world record (who knows, though?) but I think he could crack 8:00.
Of course, he could turn out to be the world's worst hurdler, but somehow I think he'd be good at it since he has such a smooth stride.
he could go 7:50 with good technique.
just the facts brother wrote:
It just isn't that simple. Some guys can run 50 sec 400m off of a fast pace and some just can not. Agility and athleticism are a HUGE factor - some are efficient at barriers and some are not, regardless of how fast they are in flat races.
You're right and wrong. Many good American distance runners are bad/underperform in the steeple because they are poor all-around athletes (i.e. lack the coordination, jumping ability, capacity for anaerobic surges, etc). This is because the filter than gets most American kids into running is being BAD AT OTHER SPORTS.
In Kenya, GOOD ALL-AROUND ATHLETES GET INTO RUNNING, and their training style makes them better. Training fartleks and sick progressions on essentially rough XC courses from age 13-18 is pretty good steeple prep.
Lagat would do more than fine. He could go 8:05 in one season if we wanted. Maybe 7:55 - 8:00 if he had taken to it a few years ago. But why would he?
rupp-certified saladbar wrote:
[quote]just the facts brother wrote:
In Kenya, GOOD ALL-AROUND ATHLETES GET INTO RUNNING, and their training style makes them better. Training fartleks and sick progressions on essentially rough XC courses from age 13-18 is pretty good steeple prep.
So you are putting down the all-around athleticism of American runners by comparing them to a bunch of guys who are like 5'2" 100lbs?
Kenyans are good at steeplechase because 1) There are a lot of good runners there, and 2) the event is more popular there (don't forget the world record holder was a 12:48 guy who blew El G out of the water the year he won the Olympics).
Fluffy wrote:
It would take less than 8:08.82
Congrats on being first. I was going to post something very similar.
Agreed Lagat has way more talent than Symmonds when it comes to running. I was refering to all around athleticism, ex. vertical jump, pure strength (weightlifting) and raw speed (which i think they are very close in, but i give the edge to Symmonds because he is a 1:43, maybe 1:42 guy later this year.) No doubt for me that Lagat handles him in anything over 1200 meters. Maybe even anything over 1000m.
Lagat would never break 8:20 in the steeple.
Lagat even w/o good hurdling technique would probably break the record in his 2nd or 3rd attempt and I would not be surprised if he got it on his first attempt. The reason why I am so sure about this is that I have seen it before with Kenyans with lesser credentials in the 1500/5k than Lagat. In fact, the reason why Jager is doing so well is that he is probably in very good 1500/5k shape right now.
I agree that if Lagat chose to prepare and train and compete one year with a steeple focus he could run under 8:08 however he is aging and sooner or later that big drop-off is going to hit him. Great runners don't gradually hang on and fade away, they drop off a cliff drastically.
ggg wrote:
he could go 7:50 with good technique.
The world record is 7:53. There is no way that Lagat, at age 38, would run below that and I doubt he could break 8:00. I'm not sure that he could even break the American record.
TrackCoach wrote:
Lagat even w/o good hurdling technique would probably break the record in his 2nd or 3rd attempt and I would not be surprised if he got it on his first attempt.
This is why nobody on these boards pays any attention to you. In fact, every poster with the name "Coach" seems to be a moron.
Is a very simple test:
1) Is he Kenyan?
2) Is he a runner?
If both are true then the answer is he'd be a good steepler.