Only 30 Americans EVER have run faster than Alan Webb's high school mile time of 3:53.43.

luv2run wrote:

webbisarealman wrote:

No one has run faster than his 3:46.19 since he ran it. No one in the WORLD. Fastest time in almost the last 7 years now..

Webb = Legend.

And just how often has the mile been run in that time?

Basically every year at Pre, Oslo, London, with a world-class field and often a pacer scheduled to run 1:51-2 for the first 800

It is not just about time. Being able to run well in a tactical race and win championships and at the olympics also says something. Like others, e.g. Steve Holman and Fernando Mabebe in the early 80s, Webb demonstrates an ability to run fast races with the aid or pacemakers but often chokes in the big races where the chips are down. Others like El G, Gebrasellasie, or Morceli demonstrate the ability to win slower tactical races as well as set WRs.

knelsona wrote:

It is not just about time. Being able to run well in a tactical race and win championships and at the olympics also says something. Like others, e.g. Steve Holman and Fernando Mabebe in the early 80s, Webb demonstrates an ability to run fast races with the aid or pacemakers but often chokes in the big races where the chips are down. Others like El G, Gebrasellasie, or Morceli demonstrate the ability to win slower tactical races as well as set WRs.

El G had pacers in every championship race

webbisarealman wrote:

No one has run faster than his 3:46.19 since he ran it. No one in the WORLD. Fastest time in almost the last 7 years now..

Webb = Legend.

Based on the IAAF multisport equivalency tables posted by another poster in this thread to some Google Docs (assuming those reflect official), in fact, Mo Farah in his 3:28.high 1500m ran a faster equivalent than Webb's AR, and so has Asbel Kiprop. Of course, Webb is hands down amazing, not denying that.

Couldn't we just say that Webb (and Cram) are frankly the fastest genetically disinclined white anglo saxons that ever threw down a monster mile without any legitimate doping concerns?

knelsona wrote:

It is not just about time. Being able to run well in a tactical race and win championships and at the olympics also says something. Like others, e.g. Steve Holman and Fernando Mabebe in the early 80s, Webb demonstrates an ability to run fast races with the aid or pacemakers but often chokes in the big races where the chips are down. Others like El G, Gebrasellasie, or Morceli demonstrate the ability to win slower tactical races as well as set WRs.

No you're wrong. Webb's success in championships (when healthy) was exactly what you'd expect from a guy with his PRs. In fact probably 75% of 3:30 runners have not made 2 global finals, which he did. El G did better because he was another 4 seconds faster.

Jim Ryun, who you are referencing, ran within one second of the wr as a high school senior, then broke the wr as a college freshman and sophomore. Also made an olympic team as a hs junior. If he had not been burned out so quickly, he quite possibly could have put the mile record out of reach until the epo laden 90s. Incredible talent.

It occurs to me that maybe Jim Ryun's HS age career is the ideal perspective to consider Cain's progress thus far

I don't think Ryun burned out. Maybe he peaked but he quit on his own terms. Wanted to spend more time with his kids. There wasn't the kind of support for pro runners like today.

gwalkerruns wrote:

Jim Ryun, who you are referencing, ran within one second of the wr as a high school senior, then broke the wr as a college freshman and sophomore. Also made an olympic team as a hs junior. If he had not been burned out so quickly, he quite possibly could have put the mile record out of reach until the epo laden 90s. Incredible talent.

I think I watched a documentary on YouTube a few years ago about how he put in an incredible amount of mileage and seeming dedication for the Mexico Olympics and for a short period afterward? Poster makes it sound like he burned out, hands down, down and out, by the time he left High School. I think he gave it his best shot and spectacular things, unfortunately, did not continue to happen. We can also give him some credit as, as HardLoper said, and even as the Chairman of the Boards Eamonn Coghlan said recently (prompted by Rupp's post-workout controversy), pros these days have a lot more support resources and structures than those two would have had.