Marathons are a stupid hobbyjogger fetish

roblox oof sound wrote:

All the hobbyjogging "talent" goes straight to the thon. So many 3:00 guys at boston and local marathons but where are the 17:30 guys at local 5ks? nowhere to be seen. Nobody wants to train hard to run fast(and for them, cruise intervals are "fast"), they just want to jog around for a couple hours a day. If you aren't an elite or training like one, than marathon training is a complete joke. I see people do 4-5 miles daily and 20 on Saturday, with sunday off. Pretty lazy 40 mile week if you ask me. And honestly, if these people actually properly trained for the marathon, they'd be sub 2:45.

you see runners world call tempo runs "speed training". What a joke. If you aren't busting out quarters or less, it's not really speed training. And that's the issue with all these "XC only" kids who don't want to do track. Same as hobbyjoggers. Too lazy to run fast, just want to jog around with their friends. "track is boring, xc is more fun". Running slow sounds fun to you? have it your way, actually exerting myself is fun.

And this is why track is fallen by the wayside. I just don't get the fetish with running "Far". It's so stupid. I get the ultras, at the elite level, but just like the marathon, for most, training is just jogging. Most ultra mid-packers aren't doing fast technical descents, they aren't putting in serious vertical.

I guess it's because the average person understands how far a marathon is, but not how fast a mile is. I bet most people would be more impressed by a marathon finish than a sub 5 mile. Even a sub 4:30 mile.

Ok. I'm done ranting. Discus if you like.

BILL SLOWSKY wrote:

I have no business participating in a marathon. My 5km pace is 7 minute miles. That being said, there are many people at my fitness level who decide to do one anyway. That is the most mind-boggling to me. I can understand a guy who wants to dip under 3 and qualify for Boston. That's respectable to me, especially if it's a life goal for the runner.

As a male under-40 runner, I don't see any reason to train for any distance over 5km until my 5k time is at least sub-20. Even then, I can't see myself actually racing anything over a 10km until my 5k time is at least 6 minute pace. Those standards aren't for everyone, but they are ones that make sense to me. I would do a longer race up to a half before then as a fun run/workout, but it doesn't make sense to me to target the longer races when I'm not yet able to complete 5km at a pace that undeniably qualifies as running.

Running a marathon+ makes no sense to me at all to treat as a funrun or a workout. It's neither. It's not good for your body. It takes a long time to recover from the race.

Charlesvdw wrote:

BILL SLOWSKY wrote:

I have no business participating in a marathon. My 5km pace is 7 minute miles. That being said, there are many people at my fitness level who decide to do one anyway. That is the most mind-boggling to me. I can understand a guy who wants to dip under 3 and qualify for Boston. That's respectable to me, especially if it's a life goal for the runner.

As a male under-40 runner, I don't see any reason to train for any distance over 5km until my 5k time is at least sub-20. Even then, I can't see myself actually racing anything over a 10km until my 5k time is at least 6 minute pace. Those standards aren't for everyone, but they are ones that make sense to me. I would do a longer race up to a half before then as a fun run/workout, but it doesn't make sense to me to target the longer races when I'm not yet able to complete 5km at a pace that undeniably qualifies as running.

Running a marathon+ makes no sense to me at all to treat as a funrun or a workout. It's neither. It's not good for your body. It takes a long time to recover from the race.

I agree.

But I think your limits are too strict. A 30 minute 5k runner shouldn't go up in distance.

A 60 minute 10k runner should not run a marathon.

roblox oof sound wrote:

All the hobbyjogging "talent" goes straight to the thon. So many 3:00 guys at boston and local marathons but where are the 17:30 guys at local 5ks? nowhere to be seen. Nobody wants to train hard to run fast(and for them, cruise intervals are "fast"), they just want to jog around for a couple hours a day. If you aren't an elite or training like one, than marathon training is a complete joke. I see people do 4-5 miles daily and 20 on Saturday, with sunday off. Pretty lazy 40 mile week if you ask me. And honestly, if these people actually properly trained for the marathon, they'd be sub 2:45.

you see runners world call tempo runs "speed training". What a joke. If you aren't busting out quarters or less, it's not really speed training. And that's the issue with all these "XC only" kids who don't want to do track. Same as hobbyjoggers. Too lazy to run fast, just want to jog around with their friends. "track is boring, xc is more fun". Running slow sounds fun to you? have it your way, actually exerting myself is fun.

And this is why track is fallen by the wayside. I just don't get the fetish with running "Far". It's so stupid. I get the ultras, at the elite level, but just like the marathon, for most, training is just jogging. Most ultra mid-packers aren't doing fast technical descents, they aren't putting in serious vertical.

I guess it's because the average person understands how far a marathon is, but not how fast a mile is. I bet most people would be more impressed by a marathon finish than a sub 5 mile. Even a sub 4:30 mile.

Ok. I'm done ranting. Discus if you like.

roblox oof sound wrote:

All the hobbyjogging "talent" goes straight to the thon. So many 3:00 guys at boston and local marathons but where are the 17:30 guys at local 5ks? nowhere to be seen. Nobody wants to train hard to run fast(and for them, cruise intervals are "fast"), they just want to jog around for a couple hours a day. If you aren't an elite or training like one, than marathon training is a complete joke. I see people do 4-5 miles daily and 20 on Saturday, with sunday off. Pretty lazy 40 mile week if you ask me. And honestly, if these people actually properly trained for the marathon, they'd be sub 2:45.

you see runners world call tempo runs "speed training". What a joke. If you aren't busting out quarters or less, it's not really speed training. And that's the issue with all these "XC only" kids who don't want to do track. Same as hobbyjoggers. Too lazy to run fast, just want to jog around with their friends. "track is boring, xc is more fun". Running slow sounds fun to you? have it your way, actually exerting myself is fun.

And this is why track is fallen by the wayside. I just don't get the fetish with running "Far". It's so stupid. I get the ultras, at the elite level, but just like the marathon, for most, training is just jogging. Most ultra mid-packers aren't doing fast technical descents, they aren't putting in serious vertical.

I guess it's because the average person understands how far a marathon is, but not how fast a mile is. I bet most people would be more impressed by a marathon finish than a sub 5 mile. Even a sub 4:30 mile.

Ok. I'm done ranting. Discus if you like.