Loose definitiion of "marathoner"

[jazzcyclist]

Re: Loose definitiion of "marathoner"

My point is that there are plenty of 90 kg guys, such as Crossfit Champion Rich Froning, who are well below 10% body fat, but who couldn't run a marathon at 6:30 pace no matter how much they trained, unless they lost a lot of muscle weight.

Froning's 5K PB is listed as 20:00. But I would be surprised if he could run a 3:30 marathon (8 minute pace) without losing significant weight. He may even not break 4 hours at his current weight.

http://athletes.roguefitness.com/rich-froning/

And this is the "fittest man on earth"? I guess their definition of fitness does not include endurance...

I'm sure Froning could run faster than 20:00 for 5K without losing weight if he did a few months training strictly for distance running, just as Ashton Eaton could improve his 1500 PR if he trained like a middle distance runner, but Crossfit athletes have to balance their training schedule every bit as much as decathletes do, and the rest of his fitness would suffer if he spent too much time running. Have you ever seen one of these Crossfit competitions which regularly air on ESPN? Unlike the decathlon, which has some rather technical events like the pole vault, hurdles and discus, none of the Crossfit events are techincal, which means it puts more of a premium on overall fitness and very little on skill.

[smc]

Re: Loose definitiion of "marathoner"

When I saw this posted on Facebook under "Marathon runner fined for running in Valley Forge National Historical Park during the government shutdown," I thought it was one of the Kenyans who train there. Then I see that it was a 56 year old of no competitive significance. Pretty bummed what qualifies as a "marathoner" these days.

He's finished Boston and New York, run on all seven continents...if he wants to be considered a marathoner, that's fine with me.