Engels and Houlihan dating?

rojo wrote:

Ok. Let me introduce you to a theorem on relationships that was developed when I was coaching at Cornell. I can't remember who developed it - was it a collective effort, did a few guys invent it, did I invent it, etc but we all ended up agreeing with it. This should probably be it's own thread like the post-nuptial shutoff thread.

So when I was at Cornell, a theorem was developed in my third or fourth year and when applied to the Cornell team at the time, it worked amazing. The theorem was that a man runs really well in the courtship phase / early stages of the relationship and that a woman runs incredible once the relationship is stable.

So if they indeed are courting/dating and we apply the theorem to them, it explains why Engels is doing so well this year. The good news for Houlihan fans is according to the theorem she will absolutely rock it in 2020.

Admittedly the theorem was only derived off three couples - two of whom are now married and have 5 kids between them - but it was funny/scary how well it worked for the team at the time.

Now I couldn't remember if the theorem had any take on how a woman would do the early stages of a relationship so I emailed one of the guys whom the theorem was based off as I'm still in semi-regular contact with him. I asked him did the theorem say anything about how a woman did in the early stages of a relationship.

His reply is an instant letsrun classic appears below.

Rojo's former Cornell runner wrote:

This was one of our great theories, and (my now wife) totally agreed with it. The main thing had to do with comparing men's and women's needs in a relationship. I'm typing this on my work computer so we'll just say a man has more "physical" needs -- needs that can be filled in the early stages of a relationship -- and a woman has more emotional needs -- needs that can only be fulfilled after a relationship has lasted after some amount of time. From a running perspective, this can all be tied back to the fact that you run best when you're relaxed.

When (another Cornell male runner) and I started dating (Cornell female runner, now his wife) and (Cornell runner, now the other guys wife), respectively, we pretty much started running well right away. For (the two women), the payoff came in the following year, once the relationship was more established and their emotional needs were fulfilled. The greatest example on our team was ****, who went from being totally middle of the road in her first year dating ****, to making the NCAA final or something ridiculous in the second year.

To answer your most pressing question, we didn't really have a stance either way on a woman's performance in the first year. (Our two now wives) I think competed at the same level as they had been previously. Then the next year (my wife) is running 2:07 and nearly winning Heps in the 1500, and (my buddies wife) ran like 2:47 in the 1000. I didn't know about the Engels/Houlihan relationship, but OBVIOUSLY it explains his USATF victory. Seems like she's right where she was before, but next year, if the relationship lasts, she will probably be Olympic champion.