eh. There is some truth here, but you and I could both name a bunch of exceptions. Jen Simp has never broken 2 minutes for 800 yet she is world champ in the 1500. Rowbury's 800 PR is 2:00.5 yet she won a WC medal. Steve Scott ran 3:47 without much 'raw speed.' Heck, this man Elliot can't have any speed - he was a 4:40 miler in HS. Now he was a tenth or so from a USATF medal.
I suspect these four and many others don't have the 'raw speed' you are suggesting is necessary for success, yet they all succeeded.[/quote]
steve scott? i'm sure he ran 47-48 second 400m, since he ran 1:45.0 800m. that's good raw speed. sure, he was not a 45.5 800m/1500m body like coe, but still had legit speed for a 1500m body.
elliot's a lanky, steve cram-looking dude with one gear and 1:49 speed. believe me, he's not going anywhere in a championship final, unless he runs even-split 57's the whole way. how many people win championships on 100% strength?
simpson is very athletic and strong, and can hold decent closing speed a long time because she's built like a tractor.
rowbury is really smooth and easy. she should move up to the 5K. she can hold pace without working hard.
but, these guys are all 1500 types. i'm talking more about 5K and 10K runners who have little quickness and need to run the marathon. they're endurance grinders who can never win against the big dogs because they have no suddenness when it really counts.