Who wins if all the best US milers from the last 50 years could race each other in their prime?

Ryun was a rich overprivledged white piece of crap

The answer is el g or alan

Lagat: 3.49.89

Scott: 3.47.69

'Nuff said.

Davey Gravy wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

OP please clarify

1) is there a pacemaker or is this a jogfest champs

2) do people from legal doping era get their drugs

3) in fairness to people from legal doping era, what kind of track is it

1) no pacemaker. If no one pushes it, it is a jog fest. Everyone does whatever they think will give them the best chance.

2) people get whatever drugs they were getting by with when they ran since there is no way to know what anyone was actually using.

3) modern track.

In that case, Ryun will beat Webb. But not Lagat or Scott, and maybe not Spivey.

Lagat: 3.49.89

Scott: 3.47.69

'Nuff said.

lagat ran 3:26.x something. i think that's faster than 3:47 equivalent

Robert Harrington wrote:

Lagat: 3.49.89

Scott: 3.47.69

'Nuff said.

This is obviously Lagat.

Next would be Scott or Webb and then either Falcon or Spivey. And don't forget Maree.

Sorry, but Ryun wouldn't even be in the top 5. For starters, Scott alone has 12 times faster than Ryun's fastest. Ryun's time just cracks the top 300 world all-time.

oijjerer wrote:

This is obviously Lagat.

Next would be Scott or Webb and then either Falcon or Spivey. And don't forget Maree.

Sorry, but Ryun wouldn't even be in the top 5. For starters, Scott alone has 12 times faster than Ryun's fastest. Ryun's time just cracks the top 300 world all-time.

You've outed yourself

pony kicker wrote:

lagat ran 3:26.x something. i think that's faster than 3:47 equivalent

Robert Harrington wrote:

Lagat: 3.49.89

Scott: 3.47.69

'Nuff said.

Quite a bit faster, if I'm not mistaken. 3:26 is equivalent to somewhere in the neighborhood of a 3:42 mile, right?

barry405 wrote:

Ryun was a rich overprivledged white piece of crap

The answer is el g or alan

Ryun was from Kansas. Alan Webb's parents had money (for things like elite private swim clubs that gave Alan his aerobic base) and lived in wealthy suburbs.

9ohiskjdkjdjfk wrote:

barry405 wrote:

Ryun was a rich overprivledged white piece of crap

The answer is el g or alan

Ryun was from Kansas. Alan Webb's parents had money (for things like elite private swim clubs that gave Alan his aerobic base) and lived in wealthy suburbs.

I agree. Ryun and Webb can't be in the top 10 because of this.

The Dingo wrote:

In 2004, less than a year prior to competing for the US, Lagat ran 3:27.40. Faster than Kiplagat. Faster than Kiprop. Faster than every other human not named El Guerrouj or Morceli (only .03 behind Morceli). And he has a deadly kick. He's the favorite by a big margin.

In fact, Lagat was American in 2004 when he ran 3:27.40 (which should be the AR, if only on technicality) and when he finished runner-up at the Olympics. As big a Ryun fan as I am, it's hard to see him topping 2004 Lagat.

oijjerer wrote:

This is obviously Lagat.

Next would be Scott or Webb and then either Falcon or Spivey. And don't forget Maree.

Sorry, but Ryun wouldn't even be in the top 5. For starters, Scott alone has 12 times faster than Ryun's fastest. Ryun's time just cracks the top 300 world all-time.

I think it is a mistake to focus too much on times. How often do people run their 1500 PR in a championship? Ryun was fast enough to be there for the last lap of most of these types of races. It matters to me if someone was the best in the world at their best, like Lagat or Ryun, and how good they were tactically, like Lagat and Centro. Obviously times aren't meaningless when there is a big difference, but a few seconds (especially accounting for cinders) seems like it could be overcome.

Wolf Spritzer wrote:

Then you are just ranking PRs. Webb was a time trialer. That does not appear to be the intent of the OP. Lagat's 1500 PR is 4 seconds faster than Webb's,

I'm not really ranking PRs. And Lagat's American PR is not 4 seconds better, it's 1 second better.

Webb was a racer when he was on.

More than that, he controlled the race in a championship situation and he could sit and kick.

I showed the 2007 USATF race, ever see anyone dominate a championship race like Webb in 2004?

I will concede that American era Lagat was better when you consider the 3:29s he ran in 2005 and 2006 and the Gold he won in 2007.

I don't know if Webb had injury/fitness issues late 2007 or if he just crumbled under the pressure.

He just looked unbeatable when he was right and didn't seem right at the end of that season.

I have to pretty much agree with all of this.

The best from Lagat probably beats the best from Webb.

(But Webb sure had a lot left the last 50m of the 07 USA meet. I don't see how he could have been beaten to the line that day)

1. Decker

2. Simpson

3. Favor

4. Wysocki

5. Rowbury

We should also consider that Scott did not get to compete in the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980 due to the boycott.

Cassidy's father wrote:

The Dingo wrote:

In 2004, less than a year prior to competing for the US, Lagat ran 3:27.40. Faster than Kiplagat. Faster than Kiprop. Faster than every other human not named El Guerrouj or Morceli (only .03 behind Morceli). And he has a deadly kick. He's the favorite by a big margin.

In fact, Lagat was American in 2004 when he ran 3:27.40 (which should be the AR, if only on technicality) and when he finished runner-up at the Olympics. As big a Ryun fan as I am, it's hard to see him topping 2004 Lagat.

Au contraire, Lagat won the silver in the 2004 Olympic 1500 - running for KENYA.

Binks wrote:

Cassidy's father wrote:

In fact, Lagat was American in 2004 when he ran 3:27.40 (which should be the AR, if only on technicality) and when he finished runner-up at the Olympics. As big a Ryun fan as I am, it's hard to see him topping 2004 Lagat.

Au contraire, Lagat won the silver in the 2004 Olympic 1500 - running for KENYA.

Lagat should be considered during the time he ran for the U.S., not for when he was a citizen, so I would exclude the 2004 season. That said, he was running for the U.S. when he closed a sub 13 5000 in 51, which still seems a head and shoulders above any other U.S. runner (or nearly any runner from anywhere).

If all the runners are in their prime, Ryun is definitely top 3. He has shown he could run nearly as fast as all the runners since the 80's. Hence in a fast race Ryun could hang in and kick and in a slow race he had probably the fastest flat speed of any of the top runners. He ran in the 46's numerous times in the mile relay, including a 46.9 split his freshman year at KU on the same day he ran a 3:55 mile.