Best range of any distance runner ever

Kipchoge, Alan Webb

Rod Dixon. Only runner to win Olympic middle distance medal & win a big city marathon.

Max King

Olympic trials 3,000m steeplechase.

World 100k champion.

No runner mentioned is even close to a range of 97,000 meters!!!

Haile Gebrselassie 3:31.8i - 2:03:59Eliud Kipchoge3:33.2 - 2:03:05Kenenisa Bekele3:32.4 - 2:03:03Said Aouita1:43.9 - 27:26Alan Webb1:43.8 - 27:34Mo Farah3:28.8 - 59:32/2:08:21Rod Dixon3:33.9 - 2:08:59 (OG bronze at 1500 - NYC marathon champ)Galen Rupp3:50.9i - OG marathon bronze

middldst wrote:

- Bernard Lagat- any guy that has a 3:26 1500, a 12:53 5k, and a 62 half marathon to his name has to be here

I think everyone who's broken 3:28 has also been capable of 62:xx at one time or another.

ukathleticcoach wrote:

Rod Dixon. Only runner to win Olympic middle distance medal & win a big city marathon.

Dixon has to be no.1 given his times at that point in history. Maybe Aouita at 2, Geb/Bekele come next.

Dick Quax was unlucky with the 1980 boycott on the same day in Oregon (???) He ran faster than Cierpinski. So he got second to Keino in 1970 and ran 2:10 for the marathon back in the olden days.

Kipchoge has a good range from 3k to the Marathon.

Tyler Pennel ran 3:58 last year and almost made the Olympic marathon team.

Steve ovett

RUMAN wrote:

Haile Gebrselassie

3:31.8i - 2:03:59

Eliud Kipchoge

3:33.2 - 2:03:05

Kenenisa Bekele

3:32.4 - 2:03:03

Said Aouita

1:43.9 - 27:26

Alan Webb

1:43.8 - 27:34

Mo Farah

3:28.8 - 59:32/2:08:21

Rod Dixon

3:33.9 - 2:08:59 (OG bronze at 1500 - NYC marathon champ)

Galen Rupp

3:50.9i - OG marathon bronze

[quote]middldst wrote:

.

Technically, Dixon looks slower nowadays but at the time he was 1.7s off the 1500m WR and 45s off the marathon WR. In relative terms Geb, Kipchoge and Bekele are better at the end of the frontier then Dixon but not the front.

Steve Ovett started life as as sprinter. 22 second 200m up to 65 min half marathon entered on a whim. The guy was a freak.

Stevie O wrote:

Steve Ovett started life as as sprinter. 22 second 200m up to 65 min half marathon entered on a whim. The guy was a freak.

Gotta love Steve Ovett, but Bekele's ran two 61s back to back in Berlin only days ago.

all simple math.... wrote:

Max King

Olympic trials 3,000m steeplechase.

World 100k champion.

No runner mentioned is even close to a range of 97,000 meters!!!

Definitely Max King:

Mountain Running World Champion 2011, Steeplechase 6th (8:30) in the 2012 Olympic Trials, 100 km Road World Champion 2014, and World Champion in some short OCR stuff

Said Aouita ran 1:43 for 800 meters and 27:26 for 10000 meters.

Mo Farah, 1:48/800 at end of 5K and 2:08:21 marathon.

If you move the conversation towards T&F News' criteria for rankings (i.e. considering titles/medals won in addition to just the times that are run), then Aouita has to be #1. He's the only man to ever be world ranked #1 in every flat distance between 800m and 10,000m and he's also the only man to ever earn an Olympic medal at both the 800m (bronze) and 5000m (gold). Typically, the times you run and PBs you set hold importance during the era in which they are accomplished and perhaps for some time beyond that if you were truly a legend. However, championships/medals won and the rankings you earn have more of a permanent quality to them.

I don't have time at the moment to think this through much or respond with any detail, but I sure like this list. For me, it's Haile all day long. 3:31 indoors,... as well the first under 2:04 in the marathon... and nothing but world-record fast in between. Nicely done!

Sorry... I'll get the hang of this 'Reply' thing some day. I was referring to Ruman's list above.

ukathleticcoach wrote:

Rod Dixon. Only runner to win Olympic middle distance medal & win a big city marathon.

mic drop.

VerminMeat wrote:

ukathleticcoach wrote:

Rod Dixon. Only runner to win Olympic middle distance medal & win a big city marathon.

mic drop.

Pick up the mic...

Aouita, world ranked #1 at 800m, 1500m/mile, 3000m, 5000m and 10000m at different times during his career and is also the only man to win Olympic medals at both 800m (bronze) and 5000m (gold).

With that said, based on actual achievements, I'd put Aouita, Geb and Dixon in the top tier.

Haile Gebrselassie:

1500m World Indoor Champion

3000m Wolrd Indoor champion

5000m World Record

10,000m World record and Olympic Champion

Marathon World Record

Pretty good range

But Farah running 3:28 1500 and 2:08 marathon in a 12 month span is also pretty good range to have all at one time