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

Oh.. I think the 4:54 is quite generous too. I wouldn't expect him to have exceptionally good running economy, as he does not train specifically for distance running. I'm just crunching some numbers... personally.... I think 5:20-5:40 would be great for a guy that size not doing any specific distance training

Jenny Simpson ran 4:19.98 in July, 2017. There is now way Lebron is crossing the finish line right behind her.

Had I won the PowerBall, I would have sponsored this race to happen.

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.

Once took a PE education class where an 800/miler teammate of mine outsprinted a bunch (10 or so) of DI running backs and receivers - pretty funny.

A few months later we took a 'fitness test'. My eligibility was up, so I wasn't running much, but easily lapped (indoor track) every football player. I think I ran 5:10 or so.

Yes, there are football/basketball players that could probably go out on any given day and run sub 5. But, they are a very small percentage.

I doubt he could break 6 or even 7 for a mile.

He'd run in the mid to low 5's I'd say. He isn't going to break 5 minutes. With training, he could, but he'd have to lose weight. He isn't going to break 4:20, period. Yeah, lots of high school kids do it, but they go on to be division 1ish level runners. It'd be like saying any professional runner could play basketball at the division 1 (or at least division 2) level. No they couldn't.

This whole thread is laughable. Why don't we all argue whether Galen Rupp could dunk a basketball like LeBron or not? Galen is super fast so of course he would just naturally be gifted in a completely different sport suited for a different body type.

NO, he could NOT break 5 minutes, bs!!!!!!!!!!!

How many folks in here have even a basic understanding of physics and human physiology?

A 4:20 mile is quite fast for even a gifted runner.

I'm confident that no person weighing 270 has ever come close to 4:20 in a mile.

Of course the retort is: why would they try... especially if they can command 10s of millions playing basketball?

Pro athletes are specialists...which means high ability in a particular sport does not mean high ability in any athletic activity.

fdasfasdf wrote:

He'd run in the mid to low 5's I'd say. He isn't going to break 5 minutes. With training, he could, but he'd have to lose weight. He isn't going to break 4:20, period. Yeah, lots of high school kids do it, but they go on to be division 1ish level runners. It'd be like saying any professional runner could play basketball at the division 1 (or at least division 2) level. No they couldn't.

If someone could find one professional runner ever (1500m or up) who could have played D1 hoops I will be shocked.

Not checking any of your calculations or references (I'm too dumb and lazy) - I'll just take your word for it.

But, to summarize, did you just say that IF Lebron had the greatest VO2max ever recorded (a HUGE, GINORMOUS 'IF', to say the least) then he might be close to a 5 min mile (4:54)?

Honestly, that sounds about right. And it means in the real world (Lebron is VERY unlikely to match the greatest VO2max ever recorded) he would probably be more in the 5:15 - 5:25 range. Again, sounds about right.

Larry Bird in his prime ran 5:30 in the mile. Case closed.

Nah wrote:

Larry Bird in his prime ran 5:30 in the mile. Case closed.

Read the thread, he ran 5:08.

Here's one for you: How fast could Hall of Fame football WR Jerry Rice have run a mile in his prime? I remember reading about these brutal hill workouts he used to do on his own. Not saying he had great aerobic strength, but he'd certainly rank high among football Hall of Fame types ... certainly for 800, if not a mile.

Jerry Rice probably 1:58 800, 4:50 for mile

One of the absolute dumbest things I’ve ever heard in my life that BB players are far better athletes than track stars. LeBron could quit basketball and train for a lifetime and never, ever break a 5 minute mile. I trained side by side with the 1996 Olympic Decathlon gold medalist and he could dunk higher than LeBron, sprint faster than LeBron and jump further than LeBron, had the World Record and he barely run a 1500m mole equivalent of sub 5. If you don’t know running don’t comment.

Didn't Lou ferrigno bust out a 2:10 800 in 'battl of th network Stars'?

That's probably a 4:55 or something for big Lou in the mile?

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.

That's not fair at all, Larry was running quite a bit and had 'long runs' as part of his year round conditioning program. Larry was a runner