LeBron James - Article says he can run a 4:20 mile

Way too big to run 4:20 and unless you are coming from another endurance sport, 4:20 requires real training. LeBron is pretty athletic and in is obviously in great shape, I would not be surprised to see him run close 5 minutes, which is about the best you can without specific aerobic development.

LeBron could run 4:20 if this was one of those infamous sports "time trials" where the coach measures about 1200 meters and calls it a mile.

3 track laps in 4:20 puts him on pace for around 5:50. Sounds about right.

All He Does Is Win wrote:

Basetball Player wrote:

In high school our quarterback/point guard broke his leg during the season. As part of his rehab he ran track. He ran a sub 4:30 mile out of the box, without specific training. He later focused on the 800, and ran sub 1:55 (I don't remember the time exactly). Season ended and he went back to being quarterback. He wasn't good enough to play college football or basketball and had far more potential in track.

I have no trouble believing that any number of top tier professional athletes can run a 4:20 mile.

Because running is great for a broken leg.

Lol, had exactly the same thought. :)

I remember reading in SI years ago that Larry Bird ran a pretty fast 10K (by my standards) -- around 33 -- with ZERO run training.

Boulder Schmolder wrote:

I remember reading in SI years ago that Larry Bird ran a pretty fast 10K (by my standards) -- around 33 -- with ZERO run training.

8k, not 10k

You are correct -- I just re-read that old SI article. Bird did say he did a 5:08 mile his senior year at Indiana State -- not bad.

Running is so different then athleticism. No way could be run 4:20.

Just like Alex Viada claiming he has run 4:15. I would put up $15,000 (no joke) that he couldn't run a 4:30 mile. Even after his rehab of his torn calf/labia/hamstring or whatever.

Because he can't, it's in your imagination and blindfolded-cult minded fanaticism to Lebron. He will crack after the 1st lap and a half.

So many Lebron's dick riders on the first page. I doubt Lebron can break 5. Steph curry can probably get close to 4:40.

Get off this board already. Basketballers running a fast mile? Stop f***ing dreaming and get a life

At least they're not talking about LJ running a sub 3 marathon.

Totally BS wrote:

2. If Ashton Eaton, a heavy yet trained track and field guy can only muster a PR of 4:14.48 over 1500 meters, LeBron is going to have trouble breaking 5:30.

https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/united-states/ashton-eaton-231489

In the US a decathlete is, almost by definition, a guy who can't make it in DI football.

rooting for harvey wrote:

Totally BS wrote:

2. If Ashton Eaton, a heavy yet trained track and field guy can only muster a PR of 4:14.48 over 1500 meters, LeBron is going to have trouble breaking 5:30.

https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/united-states/ashton-eaton-231489

In the US a decathlete is, almost by definition, a guy who can't make it in DI football.

Not everyone wants a future with brain damage, joint problems, and other debilitating injuries.

Wake the f up wrote:

So many Lebron's dick riders on the first page. I doubt Lebron can break 5. Steph curry can probably get close to 4:40.

Get off this board already. Basketballers running a fast mile? Stop f***ing dreaming and get a life

Sounds like your ego is offended that a multi-millionare basketball player can do your sport as well as you can. 4:20 is a stretch but almost every NBA player is a FAR better athlete that track stars. To succeed at their level is incomprehensible. We simply don't have that level of competition in running because the sport is not nearly as popular. Take a look at the 100 meter times of football players for instance. Even the huge guys are fast. If LeBron lost about 30 pounds of muscle, then he could run 4:20. Otherwise I say he breaks 5:00 with little training.

Sure but Eaton's ceiling is higher than Amendola and Edelman without a doubt in football. There's no question he's twice the athlete of either of them as I've said before.

rooting for harvey wrote:

Totally BS wrote:

2. If Ashton Eaton, a heavy yet trained track and field guy can only muster a PR of 4:14.48 over 1500 meters, LeBron is going to have trouble breaking 5:30.

https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/united-states/ashton-eaton-231489

In the US a decathlete is, almost by definition, a guy who can't make it in DI football.

Frommeled wrote:

Sounds like your ego is offended that a multi-millionare basketball player can do your sport as well as you can. 4:20 is a stretch but almost every NBA player is a FAR better athlete that track stars. To succeed at their level is incomprehensible. We simply don't have that level of competition in running because the sport is not nearly as popular. Take a look at the 100 meter times of football players for instance. Even the huge guys are fast. If LeBron lost about 30 pounds of muscle, then he could run 4:20. Otherwise I say he breaks 5:00 with little training.

It's really nice that you say that.

You also happen to be wrong.

Frommeled wrote:

Wake the f up wrote:

So many Lebron's dick riders on the first page. I doubt Lebron can break 5. Steph curry can probably get close to 4:40.

Get off this board already. Basketballers running a fast mile? Stop f***ing dreaming and get a life

Sounds like your ego is offended that a multi-millionare basketball player can do your sport as well as you can. 4:20 is a stretch but almost every NBA player is a FAR better athlete that track stars. To succeed at their level is incomprehensible. We simply don't have that level of competition in running because the sport is not nearly as popular. Take a look at the 100 meter times of football players for instance. Even the huge guys are fast. If LeBron lost about 30 pounds of muscle, then he could run 4:20. Otherwise I say he breaks 5:00 with little training.

I don't get people who worship football and basketball players. I've seen a lot of guys try to play different sports and they are not very good. I saw a video of lebron playing softball and he looked like he was retarded. Just because you are great at one sport does not mean you are great at others.

Granted, there are the elite of the elite that excel at multiple sports, but I don't think lebron is one of them....too big. He could probably plat tight end, but that's pretty much the same skill set he has in hoops, big and strong. Not necessarily athleticism.

Take Deion Sanders, bo Jackson, even Danny Ainge. All three played at the highest pro level in two different sports. Ainge is a distant third in that group, but he played in the Majors and was ok.

Sanders and Jackson are probably the best all around athletes I'm aware of. If i had to pick one it would probably be sanders.

greatest comment in the thread.

I probably took too much time looking this up… but here we go:

1-mile run time displays a VERY strong negative relationship with VO2max. As VO2max increases, 1-mile run time decreases. The correlation coefficient is -0.91, thus 80% of the variation in 1-mile run time can be explained by VO2max (1). Here is the regression equation:

Time = 9.12 – 0.064*VO2(ml/kg/min)

According to this, a run time of 4:20 (4.33 min) would necessitate a VO2max of 75 ml/kg/min. Given LeBron’s weight of 250 lbs, that would equate to an absolute VO2max of 8.5 L/min. The highest ever recorded in an athlete was 7.5 L/min (2). I think one would be hard pressed to say that LeBron would have a VO2max as high as would be required for a man of his size to run a 4:20 mile.

Furthermore, if he was near the max of 7.5 L/min, that would yield a relative VO2max of 66 ml/kg/min. At his VO2max LeBron would be able to cover a mile in about 4:54 based on the regression equation.

*I did not calculate the range for 95% confidence (+/- 2 SD). I think the average is pretty good for this… sure he might require less VO2 than the average, but he could also require more VO2

References:

Foster C. (1983) VO2max and training indices as determinants of competitive running performance. Journal of Sports Sciences 1: 13-22

Wilmore JH, Haskell WL. (1972) Body composition and endurance capacity of professional football players 33(5): 547-567