Talent is not important as most people think it is

This would specifically depend on exactly how important people think it is. Impossible to answer, otherwise.

Sounds like you are very tenacious. Tenacity is an often overlooked trait of high achievers.

yesstiles wrote:

You do have a talent. Your body can handle 130 miles a week. Many exceptional runners cannot do that, no matter how tough or methodical they train. It is a talent you have, and it allows you to benefit from more training than many others. You are commended for getting yourself to this point mentally. But you are blessed to be there.

True. There are many kinds of talent:

Those who run fast with hardly any training.Those who respond quickly to training. Those who can handle big volume and/or lots of intensity. Those who are not easily injured. etc. Then there is focus and drive on top of the others.

Ultimately, talent, drive, and long term commitment are required to be a good runner. All those factors decide your ceiling, not just one. But talent holds as much weight with the others.

Some advice I was given from Coach Jack Daniels while running in college was "don't take the lead in the race until you feel confident you can win from that point on." At the time as a college runner this sort of drastically improved my finishes, time and place wise. My fitness level was always very consistent but having that mental "purpose" greatly enhanced my talent and ability. I was no longer rolling the dice each time I raced. If you have a lousy high school coach, you may never learn about different race techniques, paces, and the various things that can bring out your best effort. You also need to greatly enjoy training but have an even greater love for the race and competition itself.

I toiled and struggled for three years in High School, and wasn't even in the top 100 in my state. Didn't get much better in college, despite mileage up to 100 mpw. Injuries forced me out, and took up rock climbing. On a mere fraction of the effort (but training smart after my frustrations with running), by age 35 I was in the top five in my region, all ages. The only guys climbing harder were ten years younger and training their brains out.

I don't know...is the argument that talent isn't nearly as important for marathon running compared to other events like 800m or 1500m?

I trained as a 400/800 runner for many years (high school through D3 college). Me and my teammates were all hardworking athletes, we all were strong and healthy and within normal height ranges. But none of us were able to break 50 seconds in the 400, which is frankly not even a competitive time at the collegiate level. I don't know how 49 second 400m compares statistically to 2:20 marathon, but this is just my experience with the sport.

You've probably come further than most expected of you. Congrats. 2:20 will be an impressive PR.

Obviously talent is important. But, I think what you're trying to say is you shouldn't let early indicators of talent, or non-talent, discourage you from training hard and setting big goals.

Truth is we don't know.

What if your talent was that you were responsive to training and got way better. I've seen people do some pretty serious training and only get 60s faster for 5k in several years.

Everyone is different. You never know until you try.

True.

I'm pretty sure Michael Jordan could still hit his head on the rim has he being a couch potato his whole life

this is maybe a very good troll post... you should be at about 100 miles a week by senior year in high school ... with 2 hard workouts ...

Practice practice practice, and you’ll get to Carnegie Hall? Practice hard *and* smart—whether it’s fiddle or footwear—and you’ll only get to the podium or big halls if you have talent as well as the drive, work ethic, skills and…. Political connections. Not, I say not discounting the basics, but unless you’ve got the”givens” built in you’re not gonna beat the ones with.

Here's a true story from my high school.

Runner A runs 30 MPW in summer, while runner B runs 60 MPW in summer. One of them runs a <4:15 mile in the spring, while the other barely broke 5.

Cole Hocker won NXN on 30 MPW while thousands of boys were running 70 MPW. Natalie Cook won nationals on 20 MPW while thousands of girls were doing 50 MPW.