Ultramarathon fans, what questions would you ask the great Yiannis Kouros if you were interviewing him?

What are his five core fundamental and universal beliefs toward the success of the long distance runner and the longevity of the profession.

"At a young age, he could run 1500 meters in 4:09 and the marathon in 2:24", may give you a rough idea, nothing extraordinary tho.

http://ultrarunninghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Yiannis-Kouros.pdf

Ever heard of Jordan Hasay?

Last we heard from “Tron” he was trying to pump up that cheater Dave Proctor across Canada. Consider the source...

jesseriley wrote:

Last we heard from “Tron” he was trying to pump up that cheater Dave Proctor across Canada. Consider the source...

Nah, posted many times since then..just not about ultra stuff as have minimal interest in it.

Dave the “cheater” as you say ( who has credibility here when you say that ) did break a couple treadmill WR this last weekend so he’s still doing alright

What an opportunity! It might be most productive just to try and get him talking and see what he wants to say. He is quite the character, and who knows where it could go.

That said...

Everyone is probably interested to know how his approach to racing and training has changed as he ages (if at all).

What is an important lesson about running he has learned from someone else?

I would really like to know more about his favourite music, and where we can get a copy of his album.

Is there going to be an English translation of his poetry or his book?

Does he have any favourite fragrances?

Over the years he has been running he has raced with many people, what does he consider to be the traits of a champion ultra distance runner?

Are there any runners he regards as being under appreciated. People who deserve more credit than they have gotten?

Were you ever tempted to use Winstrol?

rojo wrote:

I'm hoping to interview him this week.

Obviously, I'm going to ask him what accomplishment in his career does he view as the best, but what else should I ask?

Let's hear it.

Aside from asking him if he watches vo2max productions, or follows Jordan Hasay on IG...

I've heard and read in interviews with him that he often found himself disassociated from his physical body, allowing him to transcend and continue running for an insane amount of hours, days. I've always been intrigued to hear about ultra runners, after events like his 6 day running, or 188 miles in 24 hours, what's the come down from that kind of exertion? What did he monitor with his mind and body after such events?

He seemed to really thrive in "shorter" blocks of training, and contrary to what people believed, he wasn't putting in 25-30 mile days to prepare his body. Camillie Herron said his training style was her motivation for her transition to ultras.

What's his relationship with running today?

Tron wrote:

jesseriley wrote:

Last we heard from “Tron” he was trying to pump up that cheater Dave Proctor across Canada. Consider the source...

Nah, posted many times since then..just not about ultra stuff as have minimal interest in it.

Dave the “cheater” as you say ( who has credibility here when you say that ) did break a couple treadmill WR this last weekend so he’s still doing alright

I don't know much about TM records but is there a governing body that tests the calibration of the machines during these events the same way courses are accurately measured?

Always best to ask positive questions, while he’s still around.

Of course the Dave Proctors of the world are jealous of Kouros’ unparalleled accomplishments. A treadmill must seem, to them, like an exciting alternative to battling Kruglikov in a snowstorm in Tasmania; or clambering up a dark mountain trail in Greece at a pace no trail specialist has matched; or literally being forced to take breaks during his 1000-mile WR because he couldn’t sleep & would get too far ahead of his goal (he used to lounge in the US Open tennis complex & read Greek newspapers, or go swimming (!) at Tim Kouronis’ club.

Another question: Hasn’t it been difficult, the endless foreign travel; adjusting to the food & customs while competing? Or, favorite foreign foods, stories, interactions with locals. He’s been everywhere & done everything and, since most of the time he had little chance of getting beaten, he would accept every far-flung offer, even close on the heels of his last long race.

Read his sheet on DUV, his list of races looks like science fiction.

Kouros (to reference another Hellenic legend) is the Alexander the Great of running, he conquered the known world.

Or maybe a comparison with Marco Polo is fitting. Everyone loved his book, but no one believed he’d actually covered that much ground.

Joe Fejes was the runner who successfully dogged Kouros at Across The Years. It was legal & you can certainly interview Joe, but I heard he later regretted it. See Larry Bird vs Julius Erving.

jesseriley wrote:

Last we heard from “Tron” he was trying to pump up that cheater Dave Proctor across Canada. Consider the source...

Stop it Jesse. Dave Proctor didn't cheat. There is no evidence of that.

Firstly just want to say that Dave Proctor is one of the nicest blokes I have ever met (not hyperbole), proper genuine chap. Have run with him at a couple of World Champs now and his character is not on someone who would cheat, in my opinion.

He does have the pedigree to run the times and distances he does and I have seen him do that in open competition. Whilst I'm not one for treadmill records myself, he's a runner certainly capable of posting those times without cheating and, again only in my opinion, wouldn't need or want to cheat. My guess is that he'd rather fail than cheat.

Great to see Yiannis getting interviewed and like others I'd be interested in his training, but also what was his approach for when things were going wrong?

Also he made his pacing more conservative in 24hr and 48hr racing later in his career, was that down to it being a more effective pacing strategy or just him changing as a runner as he got older?

Proctor pedigree (bona fide competition) vs Kouros pedigree:

(Bear in mind Kouros’ sheet, pre-Internet, is woefully incomplete.)

24 Hours (Proctor’s best result, one time only) - Proctor=257 kms; Kouros=Min. 13X surpassed 257, many as splits (!), most over 275, PR of 303+ (Note that 24 hours is the “classic” traditional ultra distance.)

(Note that great runners are extremely productive/rapid turnaround AND long careers, 31 years [1983-2014] in Kouros’ case.)

100K - Proctor = 7:37; Kouros (his worst distance generally) = 6:43, plus 4 other sub-7, plus maybe two dozen more below 7:37 (splits, mostly)

Multidays (6 days or more)

Proctor = no worthwhile result

Kouros = 550 miles or more 9 times, several over 1000 kms, including a split of the 1000-mile WR

48 Hours

Proctor = 330 kms? (unlisted split at Across/Years)

Kouros = 13X of 400kms or more

Kouros’ marks are often only a few weeks apart! Spartathlon, Kouros’ 4 wins faster than all others. An infamous meat-grinder like Sydney-Melbourne, Kouros 5 starts & 5 wins, in shockingly fast times never equaled.

So strange that Proctor & Tron rate themselves so highly.

They aren't saying Proctor is great. They are saying that he didn't cheat in his cross-Canada record attempt last year. If you don't like him, you should be happy that his pacing that you didn't think much of led him to his injury withdrawal.

So Proctor isn’t great, but doesn’t need to cheat or pace himself or do lots of races?