Nick Thompson: 7,000+ Words on Life and How To Run A 2:29 Marathon at Age 44

Bump. A long(ish) read but well worth it.

terrific read and relatable

rojo wrote:

A fascinating read if you've got time from Wired editor Nicholas Thompson. He ran 2:44 at 30 but now is a 2:29 guy at age 44.

https://www.wired.com/story/marathon-speed-tech-training-outrunning-my-past/

Did he look relaxed?

Great read, but you (and him, but more importantly, you) neglect to mention the NEXT%. So maybe he's really just a 2:34 marathoner. Chris Solinsky quote Jerry Shumacher: "Jerry [Schumacher] always says that you're only as good as your second-best race," says Solinsky, "and I only ever finished one more 10K, where I failed to break 29 minutes. So I guess I'm really a 29-minute 10K guy." Nick's son at the end of the article, seems to agree ;).

Solinsky quote taken from this exit interview as he retired

https://www.newsweek.com/best-american-distance-runner-never-make-olympics-454377

No, he does mention his Vaporflies and that they're a factor. Still a great read.

He was running low 2:40s for years but not doing a lot of mileage or hard workouts because of work and family, and then he focused and brought the old Stanford talent to what was still a light training regimen of eventually 65-70 mpw in his 40s. Very impressive because usually you don't see these kinds of breakthroughs at that age when you've been running marathons already for fifteen years, and this goes about 5-7 minutes beyond the shoes. If he could stand 100 mpw, he might go low to mid 2:20s still.

Longest Nike add I've ever read. How much was he paid to write it? I know I didn't get a cent for reading it, and that time is gone forever.....

So even though you knew it was wrong, you couldn't resist reading more? It must be a good read.

Good read, thanks for posting

§§§ wrote:

Longest Nike add I've ever read. How much was he paid to write it? I know I didn't get a cent for reading it, and that time is gone forever.....

This wasn't my takeaway at all. Yeah, he got recruited for Moonshot, and had to mention it. Feel like that's what he did -- mention it.

Definitely agree that he could go even faster if he can maintain 100mpw. This essay shows how important a good combination of genes and hard work are in our sport. You can improve by putting in the work.

Interesting take about simply not "wanting" to be faster than the low to mid 2:40s that he had been running.

Thank you for the kind words about the piece. And thank you to Rojo for posting it. On my training: yes, maybe there's still another level if I increase my mileage, intensity, and focus. I was hoping to go slightly faster in London this spring but have of course dialed everything back since that race was canceled.

On Nike, yes, I'm quite sure they like the piece. And they are inevitably part of the story: the shoes helped and the coaching did too. As I wrote " (Yes, I do understand why the editor of a magazine that covers technology and gear might have been selected by a company that makes gear and technology.)" But my hope is that readers see the much deeper and important reasons why I was able to tap latent ability at 44 that I wasn't able to tap at 30 or 35.

I love Letsrun and am happy to answer any questions that folks have about the story. Also, if anyone has suggestions on the best things to read for getting better at mountain and trail racing, lmk. I'm isolated up in the Catskills now, which is a lot hillier than Prospect Park.

Great piece, Nicholas. I've enjoyed your writing across the years and it was really fun to read you on something I can relate to so closely.

I just finished your story. Thanks for sharing (I know it's your job). As has been said above, quite relatable. Well, at least the father-son-father's father stuff. My father never speaks of his dad who(m?) I never knew.

I took up running in middle age like my own father. We both had decent local success. He came to see me run my first marathon in NYC. He also saw me set my PR and medal at the site of his only marathon attempt. He was so excited and proud. I was too. He had triumphed vicariously despite finishing in the SAG wagon when I watched 3 decades earlier.

Excellent piece, Nicholas. Gives me a lot of hope, as I'm a 32-year-old who took a pause on running but wants to get better going forward. Seems like age is just one factor, but technology, volume, intensity, intelligent training and belief can overcome it. As someone who's gradually build from 20-55mpw, it gives me hope that if I opt to build to 70+ say, I could run some really good distance times in my late 30s.

Rojo, thanks for sharing this. I think long distance running and what it takes to compete is littered with stories like these. Heck, I probably have a 7,000+ word essay in my history about how adversity from childhood eventually led to me picking up running in my last semester of high school.

zxcvxczv wrote:

He was running low 2:40s for years but not doing a lot of mileage or hard workouts because of work and family, and then he focused and brought the old Stanford talent to what was still a light training regimen of eventually 65-70 mpw in his 40s. Very impressive because usually you don't see these kinds of breakthroughs at that age when you've been running marathons already for fifteen years, and this goes about 5-7 minutes beyond the shoes. If he could stand 100 mpw, he might go low to mid 2:20s still.

Well the easiest way to be in the best shape of your lifes in your mid 40s is to be in bad shape in your 20s and 30s:). The impessive part is the ability to up training late in life. For most of us it isn't just work and family that does us in. It is also our ability to recover. People like to focus on the energy return of the vaporflys but I wonder how much the new foams also make it easier to get in the mileage by stressing the legs just a little bit less.

My father was very unfit, hated exercise, ate badly, smoked, had his first bypass at 50 and died of heart problems at 70.

I've always wondered if my 40 years of running have been a reaction against his unhealthy life.

Certainly I'd hate to let my mom down by dying before she does, so there's that.

In a way, by setting a negative example, my father sacrificed his life to make mine much healthier.

I'm sure the parent in him would appreciate that, but he'd probably rather have had more years.

great article, thank you.

That's a really good point about recovery. One of the ways I've been fortunate is that I haven't gotten injured and I've been able to recover reasonably well. Is that partly because of the shoes? Most likely. Is it because of the structured training plan? Yes, for sure too. Is it because I didn't accumulate a ton of miles in my 20s and 30s? Maybe that too. I also credit a lot of it to Alexander Technique, a posture training that magically cured an arm injury I had from playing guitar and that I now use when running. Maybe it's a placebo, but it certainly feels like having an awareness of posture and the connections between muscles helps me stay healthy too. (It's also a reason why I run barefoot sometimes, which was one of the training elements I remember from my one year of utterly lackluster running under Lananna at Stanford.)