Moen. 2:05. Wins Fukuoka. How??

So an unknown runner, medium talent, goes to Kenya for a few months and runs a 2:05:47??

How does this happen?? All of a sudden only eight Kenyans faster than him. Besides Kipchoge and Kipsang, the rest are within 39 seconds faster. How??

Was Fukuoka paced?? If not, he could have gone even faster!!! How???

Editor's reply: Yes it was paced for 30k pretty much perfectly at 3 min per km (2;06:36 pace). That was the plan as it's a pace bold Japanese can hang with and gives someone like Karoki the ability to go faster.

How does it? wrote:

So an unknown runner, medium talent, goes to Kenya for a few months and runs a 2:05:47??

?

Obviously he's not a medium talent.

It's the shoes. 125 x 0.04 = 5.

125 +5 = 2:10

Great thread here regarding massive change in training and philosophy for Sondheim.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=8495930&page=6

How does it? wrote:

So an unknown runner, medium talent, goes to Kenya for a few months and runs a 2:05:47??

This begs the question: Can any medium talent run 1:23-1:25 for the half?

Roving Ranger wrote:

Barely 2 months after breaking the Norwegian half-marathon national record with a 59:47 in the Valencia Half Marathon (tied with Zane Robertson for All-Time 3rd-fastest non-African ), Moen ran a blistering marathon in Fukuoka today to annihilate the European record previously held by Kaan Kigen Özbilen of Turkey (2:06:10 in Seoul International Marathon last year).

His time was also the fastest non-African marathon time on a record-eligible race (Ryan Hall ran 2:04:58 in a non-eligible Boston course in 2011). Currently under the guidance of world-renowned coach Renato Canova (since early last year), Moen's brilliant rise to the top of marathon running shows no sign of slowing down.

Does this performance indicate a World Marathon Major victory in the near future? Feel free to discuss as we celebrate a ground-breaking performance from the flying Norwegian!

X-country skiing is the foundation and development sport for endurance doping. It doesn't start in cycling or running, its starts in x-country nordic skiing. X-country skiers are seen as some of the finest athletes in the world with highest VO2 maxes recorded. There is more here than meets the eye.

He won the U23 European championship in 2011 in the 10000m. Obviously a talent who has through hard work and dedication, specialized in the marathon and found the right formula to excel.

Not just medium talent - guy ran a 8:12 3k as a HS junior (approx 8:47 3200) and a 13:30 5k as a college sophmore in 2011, before years of injury problems.

And 28.51 10k road @ age 19.

He has dropped his marathon PR by over seven minutes since the beginning of the year. He has been chugging out 28-minute 10000s and 62-minute halfs for years and years, then.....POW.

A very good interview from six years ago:

https://vimeo.com/21058884

(Running 200K/week age 20)

Three years ago (coming off surgery):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed_x46dTH8o

rebound wrote:

He has dropped his marathon PR by over seven minutes since the beginning of the year. He has been chugging out 28-minute 10000s and 62-minute halfs for years and years, then.....POW.

Honestly, it really does look suspicious. 62.X for half marathons for 4 years. You train with Canova in Kenya for a year and bam, 59.X. Really? From a 2.12 marathon to a 2.05 in a year? I'm not saying he's not talented. I am saying his progression this year is insane. Unbelievably so, honestly.

guy is built like a tank for a marathoner. i know hes listed at 5'10 140ish? but 140 appears to be an underestimate, given the size of his quads/hams. makes me wonder if guys like true (and formerly, solinsky), despite the conventional wisdom, could be very good marathoners, given the size of their engines.

This is indeed a bit hard to believe...Maybe Pepe Renato tried his theory that EPO does nothing for Kenyans on him? Way to make a point!

Deek was similar in size. His legs were massive with a slight upper body.

Like Lance would say "this is not normal"...

"Today Moen ran 2:06:45 pace for 30k, and then the final 12.195k he ran 2:03:24 pace."

Great run.

Does anyone know how many times he has been tested out of competition this year? Or is this info only available for Americans?

There is no need to test champions with natural talent who train in Kenya

Ackley wrote:

Great run.

Does anyone know how many times he has been tested out of competition this year? Or is this info only available for Americans?

Let’s be real, nobody on here knows. People will say they do, but they don’t. After all, this is letsrun.