What's stopping you from becoming elite?

Of course it`s 100% a question about talent/genetics at every level, even the level who don`t have any talent.....but......if we talk about the % of talent/good genetics a runner needs to reach professionell level compared to the training method I think it`s close to 80/20 %.

What's stopping me? The same thing that's stopping most people...GENETICS. Like it was said best in Rocky 4, you must have the "Genetics."

https://youtu.be/vCakq_nR-4A

No one really knows. Obviously some people just don't train seriously enough but there are loads of us who train or trained like elites but never came close to being one.

Really, in any activity where performance can be measured you get a Bell Curve if you graph those results. Most of us will be in the middle part of the curve and will create explanations as to why, genes is the current favorite but no one has found a "running gene." So really, mostly we're all just guessing here.

Pretty hard to be elite when you keep tripping over your schlong.

Of course there are all examples of runners training like elites and not reaching elite level, and runners with great talent not training seriously enough or with wrong method. Talents/genetics very high importence for the result in running is there,without any doubts. But we have to define what talent for running is. When I talk about talent for running it includes the total cardio-vascular system and the biomechanical movement and level of fast/slow musclefibers.

Everyone's answer should be talent. No one on this board could be elite if they had all the resources and all the time.

Sorry for the truth bomb.

Genetics R Us wrote:

What's stopping me? The same thing that's stopping most people...GENETICS. Like it was said best in Rocky 4, you must have the "Genetics."

https://youtu.be/vCakq_nR-4A

Bruh, this scene could be happening today!

Sh1tty coaches and L-Caritine deficiency

J.S wrote:

Of course there are all examples of runners training like elites and not reaching elite level, and runners with great talent not training seriously enough or with wrong method. Talents/genetics very high importence for the result in running is there,without any doubts. But we have to define what talent for running is. When I talk about talent for running it includes the total cardio-vascular system and the biomechanical movement and level of fast/slow musclefibers.

Well, sure, to a degree. But that's sort of like defining talent for basketball as being tall and coordinated. It's part of it. But you'll never find complete correlation between runner's cardiovascular capacity and levels of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers and their comparative performances. Humans have spent millennia trying to define talent in various realms. I don't think we're going to sort it out on this board.

WhyNotGoForIt wrote:

What's stopping you from becoming a sponsored athlete?

No one will sponsor me.

Not everyone has the time, inclination, or inherent ability. But for those who do, it probably requires about two hours of running per day over many years and training different physiological systems to reach full potential. Counting miles doesn't matter as they will all be run at variable paces and will increase organically as the individual becomes fitter.

Btw, that's two hours of just running. It doesn't include all of the core, strengthening, injury prevention and rehab, extra sleep required, etc. Not too many people have the time or energy to do this unless they start in college and see the potential before they exit or at least within a couple of years of graduating.

Genetic Potential

Thinking out loud wrote:

Not everyone has the time, inclination, or inherent ability. But for those who do, it probably requires about two hours of running per day over many years and training different physiological systems to reach full potential. Counting miles doesn't matter as they will all be run at variable paces and will increase organically as the individual becomes fitter.

Btw, that's two hours of just running. It doesn't include all of the core, strengthening, injury prevention and rehab, extra sleep required, etc. Not too many people have the time or energy to do this unless they start in college and see the potential before they exit or at least within a couple of years of graduating.

None of that extra stuff makes any difference to whether you become elite.

The people saying no gene has been identified or no one knows what to look for are deluded.

We're looking for people with as close to the genetic make-up of Kipchoge as possible.

How to run 100 mpw without getting injured?

OK, then what gene or combination of genes is it that determines how good a runner someone can be?

HRE wrote:

OK, then what gene or combination of genes is it that determines how good a runner someone can be?

Why do you think that because someone can't name it or hasn't isolated the combination that it doesn't exist?

That's like saying there is nothing on the dark side of the moon because you can't see it with a telescope.

They know what genes are involved with Ethiopian adaptations to high altitude.

Would it mean anything to you if someone listed the codename for it?

talented workers wrote:

Thinking out loud wrote:

Not everyone has the time, inclination, or inherent ability. But for those who do, it probably requires about two hours of running per day over many years and training different physiological systems to reach full potential. Counting miles doesn't matter as they will all be run at variable paces and will increase organically as the individual becomes fitter.

Btw, that's two hours of just running. It doesn't include all of the core, strengthening, injury prevention and rehab, extra sleep required, etc. Not too many people have the time or energy to do this unless they start in college and see the potential before they exit or at least within a couple of years of graduating.

None of that extra stuff makes any difference to whether you become elite.

Really? I'm pretty sure it makes a difference in terms of not getting injured or managing injury to sustain the highest level of training possible. This is required to become "elite."

WhyNotGoForIt wrote:

Running is an interesting sport in the sense that a lot of the fans are training along side the athletes they watch and have dreams of one day breaking through. What's stopping you from becoming a sponsored athlete, and what training would you do in order to maximize your chances of becoming a professional runner?

Nothing is stopping me - apart from being 53, slow, and having a good job that supports my family well, that I'd have to quit in order to pursue certain failure in running.

The fact is you don`t have to run 100mpw to reach your highest potential! It`s not how many miles you run that is most important, it`s how you run them that counts most.