Olympic Triathlon Champion runs 28:32 for 10k at Stanford

so you pass dozens of pro's, on the run portion of the triathlon, which is the final portion, which must mean you would be an elite triathlete?

yeppers wrote:

I'm amazed at how slow elite triathletes run the run portion of their triathlons. I often pass dozens of these pros.

Mzungo wrote:

The OG run course was only 9600m. Official.

The OG course was measured by Hugh Jones himself, a former London Marathon champion and the top course measurer for he country, who has repeatedly said it's full length. No way a true son of the mud and roads like Hugh would let those wimpy spandex clad tri dudes get away with a short course.

What's more interesting is that Alistair Brownlee's run last night would have been top 3 in the UK rankings last year. He's well on his way to a world champs berth.

Brownlie won't compete in this year's WC - but he is going to try to make the England team in the 10k at next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The brojobs should laud you like they did that one guy on Earth who said the IAAF xc courses were short.

Seriously though - good prediction on your part. All my jabs are meant for the brojobs.

General Saou wrote:

People don't get how much power you need to generate to bike at the speeds the tri guys do. I always figured (before i began cycling) that since I'm good at running, I'd crush it on the bike. NOT SO. totally different.

This. You simply cannot do well at all in cycling by being a light distance runner. You need legs and a back that can deliver power to the pedals.

Mzungo wrote:

The OG run course was only 9600m. Official.

Where do you come up with this? The London Triathlon 10K course was certified. And, if anything, it was actually long as the course map shows 6.31 miles. Here is the precise course map using the precise T2 exit location as the start, the actual finish as the finish, and the precise location of the U-turn on course via the video of the race.

If you don't believe this distance is accurate then you must show one of the following to be true:

1 - the lat/long pairs that google has for the points on earth that make up the line on this map to be inaccurate

2 - the math that determines distance between two lat/long pairs to be inaccurate

3 - 0.35 miles worth of shortcuts from the measured line that the Olympic Games route took. You say it was 9600m = 0.25 miles + the distance of this course shows 6.31 miles = 0.1 miles long, total =0.35 miles of shortcut from this map that you must account for if your claim of 9600m is true.

Lots of triathlon run courses are surely long. The Olympic Games was not. He ran a legitimate 29:07 there just as he ran a legitimate 28:32 yesterday. Give credit where credit is due.

Oh please, I did a tougher ride just now during my lunch break.

It says he averaged about 310 watts while he was IN THE BREAK, and if you look at his power chart he averaged 200 watts (or less?) on the first lap that he was actually with the main field. I don't understand why his power went back up afterwards, but the point remains that keeping up with a group on a draft-legal bike is far from an all-out effort for a fit and pack-savvy cyclist.

Put into perspective the top,triathlete in the world who is doing a massive amount of aerobic conditioning runs 2 minutes short of the worlds best 10km runners - why is everyone surprised...I would expect them to be at least that fast... Brown lee has a nice smooth running style and that is probably his best event in the triathlon.. I could imagine if he focused on running alone he could be a high 27 or low 28 minute guy..

Optional extras wrote:

Put into perspective the top,triathlete in the world who is doing a massive amount of aerobic conditioning runs 2 minutes short of the worlds best 10km runners - why is everyone surprised...I would expect them to be at least that fast... Brown lee has a nice smooth running style and that is probably his best event in the triathlon.. I could imagine if he focused on running alone he could be a high 27 or low 28 minute guy..

It's hard to say definitively what his strongest strength is in triathlon because he doesn't have a weakness and that is why he has a gold medal. He always swims with the lead pack, forces the bike with his brother to whittle the field and ensure no one has fresh running legs, and then wins on the run. Put him in an open water 1500 meter swim race and he is probably on par with his 28:30 10K run amongst the open water elites. He's known as a strong cyclist as there is in the ITU ranks as he races from the front and forces the pace and doesn't just sit in, so no doubt he is strong enough that a pro team would take a chance on him ala Spencer Smith and Lance Armstrong.

I don't think you need to imagine him focusing on running in order to see him as a high 27, low 28 guy. He just ran 28:32 in his first ever track 10K; it's not a stretch to imagine 20-40 seconds improvement just by racing a few more times. You can imagine him as a non-focussed runner who is a high 27, low 28 guy, because if he chooses to race a few more times that is what he will be.

Plus, he was in it for the win and was narrowly outkicked. He might have gone faster if the pace had been faster. Might not have, too.

sdzfsdfsd wrote:

but the point remains that keeping up with a group on a draft-legal bike is far from an all-out effort for a fit and pack-savvy cyclist.

Nobody is saying it's close to an all out effort. Some idiots are saying that it takes "little to no effort" which clearly isn't true. Common sense is a sufficient proof.

I read all of this and I'm still not sure what the argument is. So a top triathlete cannot run as fast as pure runners, but can still run pretty well. And runners cannot just become great cyclists. Has anyone ever suggested something different? What is the point of contention?

kny wrote:

Lots of triathlon run courses are surely long. The Olympic Games was not. He ran a legitimate 29:07 there just as he ran a legitimate 28:32 yesterday. Give credit where credit is due.

+1

cougrun wrote:

I have been saying for years that an all american cross runner would do awesome in the tri event especially at the olympic and world championship level where you are allowed to draft of the bike which takes little to no effort.

please don't talk about things you are so obviously ignorant of.

Makes you wonder how fast he could run if he just focused on running.

shoe guy wrote:

Makes you wonder how fast he could run if he just focused on running.

Good question. 28:32 is very impressive for a triathlete.

28:32 recently was an Olympic Trials qualifying standard. This is unheard of until now. Obviously better runners are starting to go to the Triathalon.

I bet this guy could train for 11 weeks and run 2:14 or better for a marathon. There must be more money in tris than I thought

crazy raisin wrote:

Tri Coach wrote:

Yes.

He ran 29:07 in the Olympics, that's only 2% better.

2%, plus or minus 10%.

No, it's pretty much exactly 2% better. 35 seconds better than 1747 seconds is a 2% improvement.

cougrun wrote:

There is no way the Olympic tri run was a complete 10000 meters. Road vs Track, Hills vs Flat, 1 hr 15 min of intense competition before the run vs single event.

With that said it is still an amazing time for a triathlete. I have been saying for years that an all american cross runner would do awesome in the tri event especially at the olympic and world championship level where you are allowed to draft of the bike which takes little to no effort.

Wow, so much wrong in such a short space.

1. Yes, the Olympics triathlon was 10K. A very flat, fast, and 10,000 certified meters.

2. Think again if you think the ITU bike leg takes little to no effort. The ITU races are full of attacks of guys trying to get in a group that might get off the front and gain time before the run. A group ride that is constantly attacking and constantly closing down attacks is a very difficult group ride indeed if you've ever taken part in one yourself. And the Brownlee brothers are known for hammering the bike to not allow anyone to get away and to make sure no one has any running legs left.

3. If you aren't a D1 All-American or better swimmer you don't stand a chance in ITU races, because if you don't come out of the water with the lead group your race is as good as over. How many of your all american cross runners that you think would do so great at world and olympic level tri also have all american swimming ability as well?