Nobby,
I haven't read Tayler's story, so I am not sure what he did in training that was marvelous. I'll guess that he quit his hard reps before he dug himself a hole he couldn't climb out of - recover from.
I will comment about "anaerobic" training - almost a completely false term unless one is running reps whic last just 5 seconds (or less) and have 3 minutes or more recovery between reps. Most runners do way too many anaerobic reps. They should stop way before they are wiped out!
Turning workouts into races is a huge mistake, generally, unless you haven't raced in weeks and need a "tune-up." Just because someone can do 20 x 400m hard, doesn't mean it is going to be better than 10 x 400 or even 5 x 400m hard. Part of the problem is just running "hard" or "fast" rather then setting out to run at an appropriate pace relative to one's ability. Let's say that means running some 400s at 1-mile pace if you are a miler. I know people who hate to be pinned down to a time don't like this statement, but I stand by it. To reiterate, running some 400s at a pace appropriate to one's ability is highly beneficial and better than arbitrarily running 400s at a hard pace and stopping "whenever you are tired."
Here is the rub: the amount of performance gain from doing anaerobic training is limited in comparison to aerobic training. This statement confirms Lydiard's method in principal. Anaerobically training may directly improve anaerobic capacity enough to run 3-4 seconds faster in the mile by doing 20 x 400m hard. So, a runner training for weeks may go from 4:34 in the mile to 4:31 or 4:30. Overall, because many 400s are run (*which actually do have a substantive aerobic component according current science research) the time improvement for a 5:00 miler after a year of doing 400s might improve him or her to 4:30 (first to 4:34 because the 400s and other running done improved aerobic capacity and then a final 4 seconds of improvement because of anaerobic capacity developement - down to 4:30, overall).
In contrast, a runner focusing on year-round aerobic developement, not just duing a 3-4 month marathon base prior to more intense but low volume training, and adding in just a few reps as the race season approaches, say 5 x 400m quick, will more likely see a faster 1-mile time (4:22, for example) and a better ability to withstand several races in a short time.
So, what I am proposing is simple: most people run too many hard / fast reps and make workouts into races. Most people would be well advised to focus more on overall aerobic capacity development and use small amounts of fast rep training and for not many weeks if they want to reach their ultimate potential. This statement, I believe, is in full support of the late-great Arthur Lydiard's main training principles. If I am wrong, I appoligize to Arthur but not for the statements - becuase I think they are right.
Tinman