Interesting article as I have found this true myself. Back in the late 70's early 80's I could run a 15:30 5K or 31+ 10k and get 20th in a race but today that is often in top places. When I ran my PR for the marathon (3:30:52) in the 1978 Fiesta Bowl Marathon I was 34th and in looking at the Boston results from 2016 I would have gotten around the same place. Of course there are runners getting faster but the point of the article is that overall times appear to be getting slower; The Great Slowing of the American Runner
Zack Bitter not only won this years Javelina Jundred he broke the course record despite 94F temps, at least that is what I saw on Weather.com. If you are from my neck of the woods, South Central KY, our own Will Rivera , owner of Running Soles in Elizabethtown, struggled with dehydration lap 3 but came back to finish in 34th ( 21:58:48)and get his qualifier for The Western States 100. YOu can read more about the Javelina Jundred and other races this weekend at iRunFar.
Speaking of Zack Bitter he was on this weeks Endurance Planet Podcast. This was a great interview with lots of good info and insights: Dr. Phil Maffetone & Zach Bitter: Elite Runner Taking on MAF, Phil’s Assessment, Progressing and Customizing Everything (Even Diet!) .
Interview with Jim Ryan
Jim Walmsley's report on his Grand Canyon R2R2R FKT which also included an FKT for R2R.
Good article by Mark Cucuzzella that applies to any marathon and to running in general: Semper Fly - How to Run the Marine Corps Marathon 2016
A plug for two of the races I am doing in the new year: Land Between the Lakes 50 Miler & Yamacraw 50K
Anyone tried one of the TrueForm Runner Treadmills. I like the idea of no electricity being used not so much the price even though it may be worth it. This is the other treadmill I am looking at if I come across some extra cash:) - Boston Marathon 3.0
Interview with Zack Bitter after the 2016 Javelina Jundred
If 100 miles is not enough and you want to see some really beautiful countryside then run the Tahoe 200 Endurance Run. REGISTRATION OPENS on Nov. 5 at 9am PST for the Sept 8-12, 2017 event
Diamond to the Rough - Official Trailer
Diamond To The Rough - Official Film Trailer from Myles Smythe on Vimeo.
Yading Skyrun in China
Were those 15:30 5ks on flat ground? It would have to be downhill for me! Thanks for the references. I'm considering a half marathon next summer.
ReplyDeletePeter
Don't remember if they were flat, probably rolling as I tended to better on those course than dead flat ones:) At the end of summer , early Sept, there is a good trail half out here in KY called the Rugged Red ( http://www.ruggedred.org/).
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