err ever heard of Paula Radcliffe
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Yes.
His range was incredible.
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He was considered the most versatile runner for a decade. He medalled in the Olympics in the 1500m, at cross-country Worlds and won NY.
His character is awesome.
Super shoes, altitude training he is a 2:05 marathon runner. He'd kick a lot of ass today.
Plus he is cooler than all the woke and triggered kids today, yet still has a lot of empathy of others.....hunted boars with a knife and dogs in the bush, after a long run and quartered them on the spot.
He's the man.310 -
"Distance" starts at 50 k The marathon is a nice short run so no, he is not. You have to win races at 100 miles to 200 miles.
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Great interview with Dixon here. Incredible
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Jakob has entered the chat
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Read "Today we die a little" and get back to me.Zatopek was the best white runner and had the most incredible life story.
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Coevett wrote:
Serious question.
Running back in the 1970s recorded world class times for every event from the 800m to the marathon.
His 800, 1500, half-marathon, and marathon times are all quicker than Galen Rupps.
This on inferior tracks, inferior competition etc. Not to mention Rupp is using oxygen tents, micro-dosing with vitamin c and that's just the legal stuff. I'm pretty sure Dixon wasn't into any of that.
No, he wasn't. Definitely not in top 10.
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Dixon was great, no doubt about it. He proved his range to be among the very best of non-Africans. That being said, it's a stretch to say he was THE GOAT of Caucasian distance runners, the argument being, he only has one great marathon to speak for, and, except for some modest road racing success in the early 80s (not really dominant on the level of Craig Virgin & Herb Lindsey), and nothing else above 5000m that really stands out, other than his Bronze at World Cross in 1982, I think there are others who may have a better case such as Carlos Lopes
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lmb wrote:
Read "Today we die a little" and get back to me.Zatopek was the best white runner and had the most incredible life story.
This kind of thing is almost always subjective but Zatopek is always my answer to any "greatest ever" questions. He opened the door to the modern, high volume, era. Both van Aaken, Cerutty, and Lydiard, were very influenced by him as were loads of lesser known athletes and coaches. He did not just win a truckload of Olympic medals but revolutionized training for distance runners even if there was still some tweaking to do.
Rod had a great career and seems a pretty cool guy with tremendous range. But I think, and again, this kind of thing is subjective, if you're going to be the best distance runner ever, white or otherwise, you need some Olympic Gold, maybe multiple ones, a world record or two, stuff along those lines. In addition to Zatopek, off the top of my head I'd say both Peter Snell and Ron Clarke have much better qualifications here.
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Wetcoast wrote:
He was considered the most versatile runner for a decade. He medalled in the Olympics in the 1500m, at cross-country Worlds and won NY.
His character is awesome.
Super shoes, altitude training he is a 2:05 marathon runner. He'd kick a lot of ass today.
Plus he is cooler than all the woke and triggered kids today, yet still has a lot of empathy of others.....hunted boars with a knife and dogs in the bush, after a long run and quartered them on the spot.
He's the man.
Everything you said was on until you had to make the ignorant woke comment. I suppose you have a mullet and Confederate flag.
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Grassrunner wrote:
Dixon was great, no doubt about it. He proved his range to be among the very best of non-Africans. That being said, it's a stretch to say he was THE GOAT of Caucasian distance runners, the argument being, he only has one great marathon to speak for, and, except for some modest road racing success in the early 80s (not really dominant on the level of Craig Virgin & Herb Lindsey), and nothing else above 5000m that really stands out, other than his Bronze at World Cross in 1982, I think there are others who may have a better case such as Carlos Lopes
Yes, he was a great runner with a great range. His type of versatility is rare now. I also remember Bill Rogers and John Walker near the front of a World Cross (in Morocco?).
He was very prolific on the road racing scene back in the 80's taking full advantage of the money making opportunities. And he always wore Saucony shoes.
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I agree with you. Read his Jim Peters story; 'The pace Jim...' what a character. A great man and a great runner.
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jacksprat wrote:
I agree with you. Read his Jim Peters story; 'The pace Jim...' what a character. A great man and a great runner.
He raced in the old-fashioned Keds sneakers (called plimsalls back in the day). First man to break the 2:20 barrier (was considered the marathon equivalent to the 4 minute mile back then), eventually resetting the WR 3 times, getting down to 2:17:39. But never medalled on the world stage.
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Until Matthew Boling.
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Clarke was truly great, but sadly, for whatever reason, he never came through in the biggest of races. No Olympic Gold. No Commonwealth Games Gold. Therefore, he does not rate as the GOAT white distant runner, imo.
Dixon was truly great, with great range, but again no Olympic Gold. No Commonwealth Games Gold.
To my way of thinking, based on winning the biggest races in the post WWII Olympics, Zatopek and Viren would be good nominees. Of the two, I would go with Viren. His '76 Olympic performance was actually superior to Zatopek's legendary '52 Olympic performance. Viren's Double-Double against superior competition is hard to overlook.
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sky2 wrote:
Clarke was truly great, but sadly, for whatever reason, he never came through in the biggest of races. No Olympic Gold. No Commonwealth Games Gold. Therefore, he does not rate as the GOAT white distant runner, imo.
Dixon was truly great, with great range, but again no Olympic Gold. No Commonwealth Games Gold.
To my way of thinking, based on winning the biggest races in the post WWII Olympics, Zatopek and Viren would be good nominees. Of the two, I would go with Viren. His '76 Olympic performance was actually superior to Zatopek's legendary '52 Olympic performance. Viren's Double-Double against superior competition is hard to overlook.
And yes!, I know Zatopek won the '52 Marathon whereas Viren finished 5th in the Montreal marathon, but Viren ran his marathon 10 minutes faster, with much less rest, against considerably superior competition.
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Why aren't Paavo Nurmi and Emil Zatopek being considered? Too long ago?
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Ah, I see that Zatopek is getting mentions.
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I received another Zatopek book from Amazon today. It's a graphic novel by Jan Novak. My evening is full!
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