True or False: Young men run better when on the prowl/recently broken up - Young women run better when in a relationship

Clearly talking about Centro. No point in reacting names

I can't speak for the women, but I know that my best training in college, and the best training of many of my teammates, would come after breakups. Being in a healthy relationship can make you a bit soft.

You can't run the 800 on pure hate if you are in love.

I think guys do run better when they are out of a relationship--you get too complacent while in them. When me and my girlfriend broke up, I went dropped huge PR's in every event and won nearly every race I ran in. Meanwhile she fell apart and ran terribly.

lundy wrote:

You can't run the 800 on pure hate if you are in love.

Great lrc answer.

I would basically agree with this. More so with the girls running better with a BF. I think that even if they don't have a BF, if they are settled and happy with their love live they will run better. I think for guys, they are happiest on the prowl and free and thats why they run better.

I feel like this topic dips into the complexity of the young male mind. So why do a lot of us run? Probably as a way to vent some type of anger from a shortcoming and as a way to prove that you're indeed an elite athlete.

When you finally are in a relationship you feel this sense of satisfaction and you lose that drive. You lose focus on running because you become sexually active and that takes away from the eat, breathe, sleep aspect of competition. The new competition is to sex that same girl in bed again and again (and again in the morning). If you've got the girl you've always wanted, the girl you love, what left do you have to prove? Why do men want to compete against one another? Is it for the glory of the sport or is it the glory of, in some capacity, proving to be the strongest male in front of all the females?

LetsRun.com wrote:

Is this total BS or an important part of coaching psychology? Let us know what you think.

Most young men do not understand, or know, how to harness their sexual energy until after the age 40 - and even then only if they are lucky. So, does the male pro-athlete need to be on the prowl or recently broken up in order to have success, before the age of 40? Sure. Makes sense to me.

I have been trying to figure out a way to word this topic in my head for weeks and this will be close enough.

I have ALWAYS felt like a relationship is a burden in every general sense. As a runner, there are times when you have to ask what you are willing to sacrifice and how much you will balance to make one work. For me, no matter what shape I am in or how my training/racing is going, I always feel like I would rather just be single/free. I reconcile by telling myself it's just me and I try very hard to be someone I am not in relationships that are not fulfilling.

Am I gay?

One of my best all time races came after I broke up with my high school girlfriend of 2 years. I finished 5th at the 1985 Kinney midwest regional (good race, not great), broke up with my girlfriend, then finished 5th at Kinney nationals (ran out of my mind).

I agree with the 'men run better after a breakup' bit. It sure lit a fire under my ass, and form the replies, it seems I wasn't the only one that experienced this.

primitives wrote:

I feel like this topic dips into the complexity of the young male mind.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ok, thanks for the hilarity, carry on.

While I agree with the general consensus, it can also be that sometimes you get broken up with (or feel the need to dump her) because you are running faster. I've had occasions where the relationship basically fell apart because I devoted so much time to running and then academics that i had little energy left for her. So we mutually broke up (I initiated, but it was gonna happen anyways). Kinda like Quentin Cassidy I suppose, except I didn't break 4 for the mile.

I'm going to go against the consensus of this thread so far. All through my college years I was never really in a serious relationship: I put all of my extra focus and energy into running (for a Div. 1 team), and more or less alternated between being overtrained and being injured for three years, before quitting the team out of frustration in my senior year. The first year out of college and training on my own, I still had injury problems that held me back, in spite of making a serious effort to train at a high level.

For the past eight or nine months, however, I have been dating a wonderful girl (also a runner), and this has coincided with my longest stretch of uninterrupted healthy training in many years. I've set PRs at a number of distances. I believe that being in a relationship, although it takes up a certain amount of time and energy, helps me to take a more balanced approach to training; and having a significant other who, being a runner, understands what I'm doing, gives me a great deal of moral support. There are certainly guys who train better on the restless energy of being single or recently broken-up; but others do better with the mental calm of a good relationship.

David Wilson wrote:

but others do better with the mental calm of a good relationship.

The key wording in this entire story is "good relationship."

And I agree with it to no end.

Running behind women in bun huggers or yoga pants is preferred.

lundy wrote:

You can't run the 800 on pure hate if you are in love.

Sure you can, you hate the guy that the girl you love is with instead of you.

this is 100% true. my junior year of high school i was in a relationship during xc season and became pretty soft would often choose the gf over running. after we broke up in march i completely changed my mindset, got super motivated to go balls to the wall with training and racing, and had the best track season of my hs career.

I know some women who ran really well after a break up. They may not be the norm, but they ran on anger and in a badass manner that said "look at me, I am great".

Certain types of women. You know the type with lots of natural testosterone. Outgoing free spirits trying to prove things.

(no -not gay women)