How to improve Sage Canaday marathon time.

bottom line is if he had worn vapor fly 4% he would have qualified. These runners running for other shoe company can not be happy

Sigmund Freud wrote:

1. Stop doing ultras .

2. Start doing heavy weight training, low reps. Squats,Deadlift etc 5 x 5.

3. Move to Iten, Kenya and start training with some Kenyans.

4. Focus on the 5k/10k for the next year or two.

5. Stop calling his girlfriend "coach Sandy".

Going to Iten would be probably the best thing to do, he is getting paid To run by his sponsors, if he can own/rent a house in Boulder he can live pretty well in Iten. And the Iten region is full of Hills so he could still train for ultra.

Those all seem appropriate. Particularly the 4% shoes (I wonder if he can paint them to look HOKA-esque, I mean they've already got a tall stack height).

But really, I think he should just devote 2018 to marathon training and faster. Hit some 10k/HM races this spring, then build to a fast fall marathon. Maybe Chicago, or a super fast late fall course like CIM.

theclaws wrote:

But really, I think he should just devote 2018 to marathon training and faster.

He can't really do that. He is sponsored because of his performances in ultras (the mid-length ones, not the 100 milers), not the marathon. Thus is "any surface, any distance" thing is not just a motto but it is also something of a requirement for him. To keep sponsorship he has to be competitive in ultras; to stay relevant on youtube/social media/etc. he needs to connect with his audience, most of whom are marathoners (or want to be) rather than ultra runners.

So all of these suggestions to run 5ks and 10ks and this and that are not really practical given his career situation.

But I agree he could get in the weight-room. He admitted he was "lazy" when it came to some of the weight stuff this cycle.

Sigmund Freud wrote:

1. Stop doing ultras .

2. Start doing heavy weight training, low reps. Squats,Deadlift etc 5 x 5.

3. Move to Iten, Kenya and start training with some Kenyans.

4. Focus on the 5k/10k for the next year or two.

you could've just stopped after #1

but he has no reason to stop doing ultras as they are the only reason he is sponsored. He's much much better at a trail 50 miler than he is at the marathon and I think Hoka would prefer him winning ultras than running 2:15 or 2:16...even running 2:13 wouldn't be as good for his career as winning WS100 or UTMB would be

A simpler idea would be just look at his old training from 2011 when he ran 2;16 marathon at hanson's and a 64;32 half which id consider his best ever road/track race

reed wrote:

Sigmund Freud wrote:

1. Stop doing ultras .

2. Start doing heavy weight training, low reps. Squats,Deadlift etc 5 x 5.

3. Move to Iten, Kenya and start training with some Kenyans.

4. Focus on the 5k/10k for the next year or two.

you could've just stopped after #1

but he has no reason to stop doing ultras as they are the only reason he is sponsored. He's much much better at a trail 50 miler than he is at the marathon and I think Hoka would prefer him winning ultras than running 2:15 or 2:16...even running 2:13 wouldn't be as good for his career as winning WS100 or UTMB would be

im not sure he is i think he is just comparatively better but i agree with the poster that said his half marathon was his best ever race and he wont win either of those races

The far better idea would be for Sage to give up the marathon. He should focus where has the competitive advantage: 50k-100k trail ultras and other types of mountainous runs, like Mt. Washington.

Let us be realistic wrote:

The far better idea would be for Sage to give up the marathon. He should focus where has the competitive advantage: 50k-100k trail ultras and other types of mountainous runs, like Mt. Washington.

Best answer! Why focus on marathon when his ceiling is probably 2:17 anyway. What is that going to get him? He's self coached and just running road marathons for fun at this point. He should give up on 100 milers too as that is messing him up and he hasn't done well at that distance.

He is much better at trails and hills. Not all 2:16-20 type runners can put down the performances he has both on hills and over 50 miles on trails. His Mount Washington performances and his North Face 50 wins are both amazing performances.

However, I think its super inspiring that the OTQ drives him and he keeps going for it, for no reason but personal satisfaction. And his marathon training will help him going forward with the trail races. Good for him!

Would be nice if north Africans came out to hammer my Washington or pikes ascent. He maybe shooting fish in a barrel there

Some Things wrote:

He is much better at trails and hills. Not all 2:16-20 type runners can put down the performances he has both on hills and over 50 miles on trails. His Mount Washington performances and his North Face 50 wins are both amazing performances.

However, I think its super inspiring that the OTQ drives him and he keeps going for it, for no reason but personal satisfaction. And his marathon training will help him going forward with the trail races. Good for him!

mt Washington he won in 58 26 so not and is not an ultra or trial and 58 minutes is closest to half marathon

Maybe you should lose like... ten pounds...?

I'm not trying to say anything, but.... Sage has been looking pretty thicc lately...

Some Things wrote:

However, I think its super inspiring that the OTQ drives him and he keeps going for it, for no reason but personal satisfaction. And his marathon training will help him going forward with the trail races. Good for him!

I think the OTQ thing is also partially based on two factors. First, being a marathon guy helps him connect with a lot of people on social media, youtube, etc. It's good for the brand. Everyone and their mother runs a marathon these days. Ultras are still a bit on the fringe, though they are growing. Second, I don't think he feels completely at home in the hippy dippy weed-smoking long-hair freak-show ultra community. He grew up as a cross country/track guy and that's where he feels the most comfortable (more the former than the latter in terms of community of course). He still talks fondly about his 5k and 8k times from high school. Who in the ultra community does that? What's Jim Walmsley's 5k PR? Who knows? Who cares?

jim walmsley 5k 13;52 sage canaday 14;29

Agreed with this - he should run what Joe Grey runs and create a good rivalry they both can play off and turn into a marketing event.

Let us be realistic wrote:

The far better idea would be for Sage to give up the marathon. He should focus where has the competitive advantage: 50k-100k trail ultras and other types of mountainous runs, like Mt. Washington.

Definitely should move to Kenya. Will be back as a 2:05 marathoner in less than a year!

You could probably improve his time by laying off him.

Dude, seriously, he's one of the best guys in this sport, and he even posts on these boards despite the crap you guys give him.

Yeah, he would probably be faster on the roads if he took a break from ultras and did some speed work. But that's not his goal. He's been very successful doing what he does.