Here's a dude who did this in real life and could have taken down Michael Johnson if he wanted to:
Milton Campbell, a sprinter from Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta, has become the brightest young track talent in the nation with a secret weapon that would shock his opponents. He runs distance.
In the fall, while Campbell's rivals are polishing their trophies, he competes in 5,000-meter (3.1 miles) races on the Douglass cross-country squad. "It builds my stamina for the 400 meters in track," he said.
Campbell, a 17-year-old senior, is the nation's fastest high school 400 runner this indoor season. He has clocked 47.07 seconds, a time few college runners could match. But that's only half the story.
Getting up at 6 A.M. in the fall to run five miles before breakfast has given Campbell unprecedented range. He's also the best in the nation in the 800 meters, with an indoor time of 1:55.22 to go with his outdoor mark of 1:51.67 last June. Styles Often Incompatible
From high school to college to the international circuit, outstanding doublers in the 400 and 800 are as rare as cinder tracks. The 400 is a sprint. The 800 is middle distance. The training requirement, mind set and running style prove incompatible.
But Campbell, who is attempting a scholastic indoor 800 record in Syracuse this weekend at the high school nationals, combines the speed and power of Alberto Juantorena, the Cuban who won Olympic gold medals in both the 400 and 800 at Montreal in 1976.
That was the year Campbell was born. Although he's unfamiliar with Juantorena, Campbell said he would like to equal his feat in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. After all, he would be the hometown favorite.
By then, perhaps Campbell will know which event he does better. Ask him now and he says, "Maybe the 800, but it's becoming the 400."
Ask the Douglass coach, Mike Sims, and he says: "The jury is still out. Maybe the 200." Also a Wide Receiver
Campbell runs an occasional 200. He runs on the 400-meter relay team. Last fall, he also played wide receiver on the football team. "He's not your average superstar," said Sims.
College coaches have noticed this. In Syracuse, dozens of them planned to watch Campbell, a solid B student with a 970 S.A.T. score, race for the record of 1:50.7 set in 1981 by John Marshall of Plainfield (N.J.) High. Campbell was also scheduled to run the anchor leg in Douglass High's attempt to break the high school indoor record in the 1,600-meter relay (3:17.8).
A week ago, in a meet at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Campbell reaffirmed his sharpness with an elite double victory, running the 400 in 47.96 followed 45 minutes later by the 800 in 1:55.22. Building Strength for Spring
In three years, Campbell has only run a handful of indoor meets. This winter, he's primarily building strength for the spring and has barely touched speed work.
"We don't want him peaking too soon," said Sims.
When he does peak, Campbell could threaten the scholastic outdoor records of 44.69 (400) and 1:46.58 (800). "I believe he's capable of 44.5," said Sims.
When Sims became the Douglass coach two years ago, he found Campbell training for the mile, a holdover from the age-group events he began running at age 12. Sims saw Campbell's speed and groomed him as a sprinter, creating a dual personality. An Unconventional Rise
Campbell accepted his new assignments reluctantly. "He would say, 'Wait a minute, coach, I'm not supposed to be running this fast,' " Sims recalled.
That was the start of Campbell's unconventional rise, which continues year-round. In the summer, while most high school sprinters are at the beach, Campbell competes for the Quicksilver Track Club, keeping him in shape for cross-country.
Last fall, on hilly park trails, Campbell was the No. 5 Harrier on the Douglass varsity, which won the regional cross-country title. His times for the 5,000 were just over 17 minutes.
"Not bad for a sprinter," said Sims.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/13/sports/track-field-a-rare-double-speed-and-distance.html