How many miles would Mo Farah have to run consecutively for you to beat him in a mile?

Bad Wigins wrote:

pr100 wrote:

It's highly unlikely that he could run another 8k at the same pace - that would imply that he's consistently misjudging his pace over the marathon.

If he's never tired, he may well be misjudging his pace.

He was very chipper after 2:04:01. To break 2:30 he would have just had to run a 25:58 for 7.81k which is only 3:19 per kilometer. I think he can do it. He should be drafted to make an attempt.

Are you trying to decide whether he can break 2:30, or whether he can continue his marathon pace until 50k?

2:05 is 125/42.195 = 2.96 min/km. An extra 7.805 at that pace will take 23.1 mins giving 2:28.06. If he can do that then he is misjudging his marathon pace.

On the other hand to break 2:30 for 50k you "only" need 3 min kms,

26.3

Lenny Leonard wrote:

4:00 - Basically his 3K pace, I'd believe he could still run that after 6 miles of relaxed running

4:10 - Just slower than 5K pace, I'd guess he could go 8 miles relaxed and then cap it off with a sub 4:10

4:20 - 10K Pace. I'd put the over/under at 15 miles

4:30 - Half Marathon Pace. He should be able to do one of these after maybe 28-30 miles right? Assuming he is comfortable being on his feet for close to 3 hours?

4:40 - Probably between 30-33 miles

4:50 - Marathon pace. I'd say he could 35-40 miles at 5:50-6:20 pace and then rail off a 4:50.

Anything over that, and we're talking about him finishing off a 4+ hour run with a mile in the 5:00-6:00 range.

I think you're way underestimating him, at least at the shorter range. He runs like 130 mpw and can run the equivalent of a 3:45 mile. 6 miles would be nothing more than an extended warm up for him. I think he could go sub-3:50 after a 6 mile run. And the difference between 6 and 8 miles would be pretty trivial for him. He'd probably go well under 4 minutes after an 8 mile run too. Hell I think he could come close to sub 4 after a 15 miler, assuming the pace for the 15 miler was nice and easy of course.

I'm a 4:15ish guy. I think Mo could still beat me after a 20 mile run at 6-7:00 pace.

Does he get any rest interval? Water/food break? If so, I'd say as long as he was physically capable of running he could still run sub 4:30.

Great question.

I often hear a phrase thrown around: racing "all-out". At the risk of derailing this thread, if you catch someone at the end of any "all-out" effort that goes beyond ATP consumption, they should have to rest for several minutes before running at any kind of pace again, right?

So, the question becomes: what constitutes an "all-out" effort?

(To answer the question as posed, if Mo only has to run 7:00 miles, then the answer for me is: however many miles it takes for him to become injured or otherwise unable to complete another mile.)

Asbel_Kiprop wrote:

zero

I laughed. Thanks, not average human being.

The wording of the original question raises an even more vague question. What's the mile PR of the average person? Are we talking in an open 18-35 age range and assuming no physical handicaps? Is it 10 minutes?

Mo Farah's Marathon PR is 2:08:21. According to McMillan's calculator that's equivalent to 100K @ 6:02 per mile or 100miles @ 7:25. Let's just assume that means it's equivalent to 60 miles @ 6 per mile. (If someone wants to extrapolate what his 7 min per mile distance would be they can do that but i'll stick with this)

That means he could run 59 miles @ 6min per mile and then beat anyone in a mile who can't break 6.

@ 58 miles he could still run 2 6 minute miles. A 12 minute 2-mile is equivalent to a 5:38.9 mile.

So after 58 6 minute miles he could beat anyone who can't break 5:39 (under the assumption that someone who can run 2 6 minute miles can do it's 1-mile equivalent performance)

Continuing

# of miles Mo has run @ 6mpm --- Mile he would be able to run after

57 - 5:25

56 - 5:19

55 - 5:13

50 - 4:59

45 - 4:50

40 - 4:45

33.8 (60 - 26.2) - 4:39

28.93 (60 mile - 50K) - 4:33

10 - 4:00

scientific approach wrote:

Mo Farah's Marathon PR is 2:08:21. According to McMillan's calculator that's equivalent to 100K @ 6:02 per mile or 100miles @ 7:25. Let's just assume that means it's equivalent to 60 miles @ 6 per mile.

Do you honestly believe Farah can run for 6 hours at 6 minute mile pace?

I think him actually running for 6 hours would be hard no matter what pace its out.

World record for 100k is better than 6mpm. I think he could come closer than you're thinking he can

It's worth noting that many ultra races have crazy elevation games and technical trail running that dramatically slows the speed and wears down the legs.

That may or may not be the case of this race, but I believe the record for 100M on the track is pretty quick.