If I grew up pampered in suburbs, is there a way I can gain the toughness of blue collar runners raised on farms?

Farming is more brown collar than blue.

Is there a way to become tougher?

Yes. Log a year or two. The most physically demanding job I have ever done and am thankful I did it. Now now matter what I'm doing now days, it's no where near as hard as logging so I can do it with enthusiasm and a smile on my face. My employees think I'm nuts to think trench work is "easy" but it's all about what previous experiences you are comparing it too.

I highly doubt logging will make you a better runner though...

Kenny Moore worked in a plywood factory.

Bowerman arranged all sort of similar jobs for his guys.

What? That is a weird question. Al Salazar grew up in the 'burbs. He was sort of a tough competitor, you know?

Maybe you either got that fire in the belly, or not. All things being equal, how motivated are you?

For example, when a race starts to hurt, and a competitor gets a step or two on you, do you hunker down and go, assuming you can do it, or do you back off and protect your reserve of energy?

If you have to ask how to be tough, you're too far gone.

Stan the weasel man wrote:

What? That is a weird question. Al Salazar grew up in the 'burbs. He was sort of a tough competitor, you know?

Maybe you either got that fire in the belly, or not. All things being equal, how motivated are you?

For example, when a race starts to hurt, and a competitor gets a step or two on you, do you hunker down and go, assuming you can do it, or do you back off and protect your reserve of energy?

And Dick Beardsley was a farmer.

Stan the weasel man wrote:

Al Salazar grew up in the 'burbs. He was sort of a tough competitor, you know?

Al Sal is too much into gimmicks and gadgets. The anti-thesis of being a blue collar.

Galen Rupp grew up in the suburbs and he almost ran Craig Virgin's 5000 PR twice in his 10000 PR.

Stan the weasel man wrote:

For example, when a race starts to hurt, and a competitor gets a step or two on you, do you hunker down and go, assuming you can do it, or do you back off and protect your reserve of energy?

Nah I race hard in my own opinion, though I can't enter someone else's mind to truly compare. Individual anecdotes don't matter.

I was thinking along the lines of waking up at 5:30 to haul some hay around (or whatever it is farmers do), so that I'd be stronger and getting out of bed for early morning runs in the rain wouldn't seem so bad. Foolproof, right?

HardLoper wrote:

Stan the weasel man wrote:

For example, when a race starts to hurt, and a competitor gets a step or two on you, do you hunker down and go, assuming you can do it, or do you back off and protect your reserve of energy?

Nah I race hard in my own opinion, though I can't enter someone else's mind to truly compare. Individual anecdotes don't matter.

I was thinking along the lines of waking up at 5:30 to haul some hay around (or whatever it is farmers do), so that I'd be stronger and getting out of bed for early morning runs in the rain wouldn't seem so bad. Foolproof, right?

I got two words for ya buddy: CROSS FIT.

Calling it like it is wrote:

Galen Rupp grew up in the suburbs and he almost ran Craig Virgin's 5000 PR twice in his 10000 PR.

Matt Withrow sent Galen Rupp home devastated from 2003 Footlocker. That same year, Matt Withrow tried and failed to break Craig Virgin's IHSA XC Course Record.

By the transitive property, Craig Virgin is tougher than Galen Rupp.

Junk In Junk Out wrote:

Calling it like it is wrote:

Galen Rupp grew up in the suburbs and he almost ran Craig Virgin's 5000 PR twice in his 10000 PR.

Matt Withrow sent Galen Rupp home devastated from 2003 Footlocker. That same year, Matt Withrow tried and failed to break Craig Virgin's IHSA XC Course Record.

By the transitive property, Craig Virgin is tougher than Galen Rupp.

True. The namesake of "Rupp-Certified" is not the best example of toughness.

Oh, I didn't think about that. Since Galen Rupp lost a race when he was in high school, his 26:44 10000 is meaningless, and growing up on a farm is the only path to distance running success.

I consider myself brown collar on account of my job as a professional fart Wrangler

Hi HardLoper!

TAA wrote:

Hi HardLoper!

Hey TAA! Good luck with exams.

HardLoper wrote:

TAA wrote:

Hi HardLoper!

Hey TAA! Good luck with exams.

Thanks! 1 more to go! Good luck getting tougher.

Calling it like it is wrote:

Oh, I didn't think about that. Since Galen Rupp lost a race when he was in high school, his 26:44 10000 is meaningless, and growing up on a farm is the only path to distance running success.

1. It's a silly thread and my post was mostly tongue in cheek.

2. I didn't say Galen's 26:44 was meaningless. It's very, very fast. However, when it comes to track 10k prs it's fair to point out that Craig Virgin never hired a team of world class Kenyans to pull him around for 23 laps on his hometown track. Also when Craig ran 27:31, it was less than two seconds off the WR. If Galen Rupp gets within even ten seconds of the current WR, let me know.

3. Craig has never said you have to farm to be fast or tough. He has said that farming, particularly small family farming in the 1970s taught him the value of hard work and kept him humble because no matter how fast he ran he still had to feed the pigs the next morning.

4. With that said, I think there are valid criticisms of some current u.s. Runners who approach their running career as a fragile art piece rather than a working grind. Ie "tempoing" road races and group sit and kick championship races. Whether or not this has anything to do with where or how current runners grew up, who knows.

5. The beauty of Matt withrows win in 2003 was that a kid with decent talent and exceptional grit and balls was able to take down the medias darling who had the benefit of a famous coach and oxygen tents since he was 15. ( I actually like Galen but I think withrow's win in 2003 is what high school Xc is all about)

A good work ethic is a core requirement to high performance running. This is not the exclusive experience of rural farm kids, but going back 20 years or so that population was highly enriched for this.

Not so much so today. First hand I have seen the farm community of my youth turn from a culture where kids came up with a tough work ethic to one turning over to automation because the current generation wants nothing to do with hard work.