How fast would elites be if they all had to work 9-5?

Kjell-Erik Ståhl. 2.10 and 4th in the WC outsprintet in the last 100 meters by Waldemar Cierpinski, who probably was a doping cheat.

Doclove wrote:

Rainy Day wrote:

Seriously. You better work 7-6 if you want to make it in corporate America.

Could you not work faster or is it all to Impress the boss.

If you work in a customer interfacing role 7-6 is pretty standard regardless if how fast you work because you don't know when you're customers might call at anytime and during those hours you're going to be expected to be on call to put out their fire or whatever.

I ran 2:17 on the American work schedule. Pretty sure Geb was working normal hours when he ran under 2:04.

HRE wrote:

I really didn't wrack my brains trying to come up with a complete list of everyone who's run fast while having a full time job. Shortly after I posted, someone else mentioned Kawauchi. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of him. I did think of Jones but knew that eventually he left the RAF and became a pro. I couldn't recall at which stage of his career the 2:07 happened, so even while lost in my Golden Era I did know that he was faster then the guys I mentioned. I also deliberately didn't mention Gerard Nijboer and his 2:09:01 because while I'm pretty sure he was working full time when he did that I was not certain.

The 2:07 happened when he was a mechanic. He never ran as fast after he went full time with running.

back to basics wrote:

Track and field should be made amateur again asap to get rid of the PED problem. In fact paying grown adults to play sports is not a good example to set in any society.

i agree whole-heartedly. would love to hear someone critique this.

this board seems to be conscious of how rampant PED use is in the sport...yet also never seem to be satisfied with the amount of money it seems to attract.

farah and rupp undoubtedly impressive athletes...but outside of their training regimen i'm not seeing role model behavior. status quo until the money's taken out

apackeddirttrack wrote:

back to basics wrote:

Track and field should be made amateur again asap to get rid of the PED problem. In fact paying grown adults to play sports is not a good example to set in any society.

i agree whole-heartedly. would love to hear someone critique this.

this board seems to be conscious of how rampant PED use is in the sport...yet also never seem to be satisfied with the amount of money it seems to attract.

farah and rupp undoubtedly impressive athletes...but outside of their training regimen i'm not seeing role model behavior. status quo until the money's taken out

I've agreed with that statement for a long time. You would still find cheating on state run programs (Russia), but it would cut down on cheating in the USA, Europe, and east Africa sooooo incredibly much, all while making the athletes more relatable. The sport would absolutely get more popular.

I think the problem is the desk part of the operation, not the hours. A preschool teacher might be able to be a professional runner, you are sometimes on your feet, sometimes sitting down, which I think is better for your health. Plus you get the summers off. Better yet would be if you work in a school where you could take a nap at like 330 for a little while. Under those conditions, I think it is possible.

I'm sure I'm not the only recreational runner, doing 60-70 mpw, who has noticed how much easier it is train, how much more spring is in the legs while training during a vacation.

This.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWJlqHLmnxo/WQmGiyk4W_I/AAAAAAAAJn0/aJwAWJ7a5osXH3Wgota83ThVocE0kqpfgCLcB/s640/%25E3%2582%25B9%25E3%2582%25AF%25E3%2583%25AA%25E3%2583%25BC%25E3%2583%25B3%25E3%2582%25B7%25E3%2583%25A7%25E3%2583%2583%25E3%2583%2588%2B2017-05-03%2B10.17.56.png

Peter Elliot was a full time steel worker for most of his career. Despite this, he was world class at both the 800m and 1500m. I believe he only finally turned full-time in the run up to the 1988 seoul Olympics. Sadly he suffered an injury (again) just before the Games but still managed to finish 4th in the 800m and win the silver in the 1500m.

Deano wont like me saying this but his talent was arguably comparable to Coe, Cram, and Ovett, even if he was an ugly ungainly runner.

Peter Elliot worked full time in a steel mill for the majority of his career did he not? I believe he was working less hours though come his last couple of professional years when he ran his 1.42. Still ran faster than most while working a physically demanding job

They wouldn't be very good. Anyone who has gone from collegiate racing to post-collegiate racing(while working full time) knows how much harder it is.

CuriousPerson wrote:

apackeddirttrack wrote:

i agree whole-heartedly. would love to hear someone critique this.

this board seems to be conscious of how rampant PED use is in the sport...yet also never seem to be satisfied with the amount of money it seems to attract.

farah and rupp undoubtedly impressive athletes...but outside of their training regimen i'm not seeing role model behavior. status quo until the money's taken out

I've agreed with that statement for a long time. You would still find cheating on state run programs (Russia), but it would cut down on cheating in the USA, Europe, and east Africa sooooo incredibly much, all while making the athletes more relatable. The sport would absolutely get more popular.

Counterpoint- The sport may also completely die since there would be $0 to be made after college.

Elliott was offered a year off work with pay to train for Seoul. He turned it down.

Mates wouldn't like it wrote:

Elliott was offered a year off work with pay to train for Seoul. He turned it down.

Which makes his performance (injured) all the more impressive.

Elliott ran 1:50 for the 800m as a 16 year old, which was faster than Coe, Cram, Ovett at the same age and still the UK record 10 years later. In 1982 he won the AAA 800m at 19 in the fastest ever time by a British junior.

The fact that he was so prodigious as a teenager and then set his best times and performances (1.42 800m at nearly 30 when training mostly for the 1500m) after finally giving up a decade of manual labor does suggest he was in the same bracket as the other three.

I believe Coe was a full time student up to 79.

1990's Curtis Robb was another example of highly talented young British runner who is a case of 'what might have been' as he chose to run while pursuing his medical training/career.

Yuki actually works 1pm to 9pm which is even worse in some ways than 9am to 5pm.Pretty much every fast American worked a full time job. It's when they started being "professional" with a slew of physios, managers, PR people, etc that they started being slow. Why does someone putting two feet in front of each other as fast as possible need a team of people?

osu wrote:

Yekfkdk wrote:

Like a normal desk job 9-5

Like Yuki Kawauchi.

bongbus wrote:

CuriousPerson wrote:

I've agreed with that statement for a long time. You would still find cheating on state run programs (Russia), but it would cut down on cheating in the USA, Europe, and east Africa sooooo incredibly much, all while making the athletes more relatable. The sport would absolutely get more popular.

Counterpoint- The sport may also completely die since there would be $0 to be made after college.

Then how did the sport survive until 1980 (or so) when there was $0 to be made after college?

Golden era wrote:

HRE wrote:

I really didn't wrack my brains trying to come up with a complete list of everyone who's run fast while having a full time job. Shortly after I posted, someone else mentioned Kawauchi. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of him. I did think of Jones but knew that eventually he left the RAF and became a pro. I couldn't recall at which stage of his career the 2:07 happened, so even while lost in my Golden Era I did know that he was faster then the guys I mentioned. I also deliberately didn't mention Gerard Nijboer and his 2:09:01 because while I'm pretty sure he was working full time when he did that I was not certain.

The 2:07 happened when he was a mechanic. He never ran as fast after he went full time with running.

Thanks. That's what I thought but wasn't sure.

Thanks for the reply!

As quickly as James Bond.