if Nick Symmonds were to run the 5000, what would his time be on a good day?

Agreed, my guess would by high 13s, especially with a bit of focus.

I remember reading that he used to do 5 mile tempos in aprox 25min as a fitness gauge. That's 15:30 pace, so I'd have to think he could run a 5k in just a little over 14.

Nappy Roots wrote:

I'm still not sure why folks forget how difficult the 5000 is for true 400/800/1500 type runners. All this talk about 14 flat or 13-low is absurd. On a GREAT day, 15:25-15:40 would be realistic.

i'm not sure why people like you think 800/1500 fitness doesn't carry over into the 5k.

i was a 1:49 college runner and i ran a 15:26 5k on the track during cross.

he is worlds better than me in the 800. i'm sure he would be worlds better than me in the 5k.

stuff you like to pee out wrote:

Nappy Roots wrote:

I'm still not sure why folks forget how difficult the 5000 is for true 400/800/1500 type runners. All this talk about 14 flat or 13-low is absurd. On a GREAT day, 15:25-15:40 would be realistic.

i'm not sure why people like you think 800/1500 fitness doesn't carry over into the 5k.

i was a 1:49 college runner and i ran a 15:26 5k on the track during cross.

he is worlds better than me in the 800. i'm sure he would be worlds better than me in the 5k.

Comparing his 1:42 to your 1:49 and 15:26 doesn't really tell us much when it comes to predicting his 5K. However, his 3:36 compared to your ?:?? and applying it to your 5K time would be a more telling ratio to estimate what Symmonds could do at that distance.

I would agree that the 1:42 is a poor predictor of his success at the 1500 and an even poorer predictor of success at 5k.

I've had athletes that have run 1:48 for 800 and 2:25 for 1k but really struggled from the 1500 on up. I would suggest that his unique abilities suit the 800 and slightly longer distances (1k-1500m possbly) but don't indicate any great times in the 5k or longer distances.

There was a previous post that suggested 30:24 for the 10k or something close to that. I would completely agree. I have athletes that can run 30:40 but can't break 4:04 for the 1500. Leg speed is part of the equation but at the same time I would suggest that you have to keep in mind each organisms unique ability to combine speed and endurance.

I would predict a 14:xx low time for Nick on best day ever scenarios. Regardless of a change in training, certain athletes can only do certain things. He might train for years at longer intervals including an increase in mileage and some excellent training at Tempo pace and have minimal success at the longer distances. Bumping mileage doesn't always translate into faster times at longer distances...........

symmonds also won his conference 10k XC in college. D3 and not all that amazing of a conference....but still, he has more range than one would imagine

'if 1500 is his better event & he can run 1'42 off it, it's highly likely he couda been a 3'26 guy in london'

If the 1500m was his better event he would be running it

Have you worked out where the start line for the 1500m is yet?