[HN Gopher] Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo completes first ever su...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo completes first ever sub-57 minute
       half marathon
        
       Author : mooreds
       Score  : 162 points
       Date   : 2025-02-17 02:29 UTC (20 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.cnn.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.cnn.com)
        
       | duxup wrote:
       | I never understood running until long ago I was running for some
       | school event and just got into that grove where ... it didn't
       | hurt to run and I felt like I could go forever.
       | 
       | How these guys do it for that long and that fast still amazes me,
       | but I felt like i got a little glimpse into how it works.
        
         | ptmcc wrote:
         | Similar boat here. I used to hate running and joked that it was
         | playing sports without the fun game part. Why would anyone want
         | to do that??
         | 
         | But then somewhere in my mid-30s something clicked, and now I
         | love it. Like you said got to get over that initial hump of it
         | hurting, doesn't take long, and then it's just soooooo good.
         | 
         | I'm not running any races or training for anything in
         | particular. I just run for me and my physical and mental health
         | several days a week. It's my "me" time. I definitely get it
         | now.
         | 
         | Also a great way to explore all the nooks and crannies of my
         | city, and find how to link up all the parks and trails and cut-
         | throughs.
        
         | mathieuh wrote:
         | I think it's the same for all endurance sports. I think there's
         | about a month of pain that you have to get through when you
         | first start but then you realise you're actually enjoying it.
         | 
         | For me it's cycling, I do 300-400 km per week now and I
         | absolutely love everything about it. The feeling you get when
         | you find a smooth bit of road on a still day and you can feel
         | is the wind in your face and all you can hear is the swish,
         | swish, swish of your tyres is unmatched. It feels like you're
         | flying.
        
           | lostlogin wrote:
           | Flat tarmac, GP5000s, no wind or a tail breeze and it feels
           | like you can go forever. I love grabbing a wheel and
           | switching in with someone of a similar pace. The combined
           | effort boost you both so much. As you say, the sound a nice
           | pair of wheels makes is unbeatable.
           | 
           | You weekly distance is excellent. Work and life get in the
           | way of me exceeding 300 regularly, I sit at 250ish.
        
           | arkh wrote:
           | > The feeling you get when you find a smooth bit of road on a
           | still day
           | 
           | If you have not already you should try rowing. When you get
           | some speed on water it feels really good.
        
             | 11235813213455 wrote:
             | Just my opinion, but I feel like these kind of sports are
             | unbalanced, because our muscles are mostly powerful for
             | legs, of course rowing is still using legs, but not much
             | more than arms
        
               | slaughtr wrote:
               | If you have proper rowing form your arms are almost
               | entirely used just for holding on. The majority of your
               | power comes from legs and core.
               | 
               | Not a professional rower, just looked into form when I
               | was using a rowing machine.
        
             | randomcarbloke wrote:
             | or it does when you're not rowing for time.
        
           | 11235813213455 wrote:
           | cycling on mostly flat roads is not as intense as running to
           | be fair, what I like in cycling is going uphill out of the
           | saddle, I used to do hills repeatedly like that, totalling a
           | few vertical kilometers without refueling nor drinking, that
           | gave great sensations
           | 
           | It's always a great idea to do regular cycling no matter the
           | elevation as it's a great "compacting machine" for digestion
        
             | mathieuh wrote:
             | I meant "flat" as in not potholed to fuck, the roads where
             | I am are completely destroyed
             | 
             | I actually live in a fairly hilly area, per 100 km I would
             | expect to do at least 1,000 m elevation
        
           | ainiriand wrote:
           | I run but I always wanted to cycle, it is just sharing the
           | road with cars feel super-scary to me. Do you have any
           | advice?
        
             | mathieuh wrote:
             | I get up really early and stay on back roads. But for cars,
             | there's a lot you can do in terms of road position and so
             | on. For me, if I feel like I'm approaching a dangerous
             | situation I move into the middle of the road. I also
             | generally ride quite far away from the kerb. A lot of
             | drivers will happily pass you way too close if you give
             | them the opportunity, but there aren't a lot of people who
             | will just drive straight through the back of you if you're
             | in the way.
             | 
             | That leads into riding defensively. I ride with the mindset
             | that everyone is trying to kill both me and themselves. I
             | expect people to pull out in front of me, I expect doors to
             | open etc.
             | 
             | To get a bit more used to being around cars I would
             | recommend getting up early.
             | 
             | But really the main thing is confidence. You have just as
             | much a right to be there as anyone else, and in reality the
             | vast majority of drivers are great. I very rarely have bad
             | experiences with cars. Obviously it takes time to build up
             | confidence, but at the end of the day a confident,
             | assertive rider who signals and manoeuvres well ahead of
             | time is going to be safer than a nervous, skittish rider.
        
             | desertrider12 wrote:
             | Look at gravel or mountain biking! If you live near some
             | farmland, ranches or a national forest, there are likely
             | miles of public dirt roads that hardly get any car traffic.
             | trailforks.com is a good place to start to see what's near
             | you.
        
         | belZaah wrote:
         | Technique is a big part of it. There's actually a specific way
         | to fast running engaging your core and making sure all parts of
         | your legs are used in a way most suitable for them.
        
         | dyauspitr wrote:
         | I've been running for years and I've never got into that groove
         | though I wanted it for so long. Lucky bastard.
        
         | x86_64Ubuntu wrote:
         | I've always wondered what happens psychologically and
         | physically when you hit that state where you can pretty much go
         | forever. It's like I begin daydreaming and I forget that I feel
         | like I'm about to die from the running. One thing I noticed was
         | that it never happened before the 1st mile, it was always after
         | mile 2 that I would mentally drift off.
        
           | thefz wrote:
           | A combination of being under your lactate threshold, and of
           | course exercise released endorphins. It's fleeting, but nice
           | when it hits.
        
         | potamic wrote:
         | I could never achieve this. Even after months of consistent
         | training, my heart rate tends to shoot up pretty fast and max
         | out even for small effort runs. Cardiologist tests haven't
         | turned up anything and they insist I can continue to do what
         | I'm doing (some even saying I shouldn't be afraid to go beyond
         | max HR, but I don't know about that). If anyone else
         | experiences the same or has some insight into this, do share.
         | 
         | EDIT: what my training looks like: zone 2 training with a chest
         | strap monitor. 30-45 min sessions, barely breaking out of
         | walking speed, 2-3 days a week for months altogether, mixing it
         | up with interval runs some times. I've done this many times
         | over in my life, never seeing any improvement. Even today, the
         | smallest of jogs will take me to max HR within 10-15 min
        
           | orobinson wrote:
           | I'm not a doctor but perhaps try running with a smart watch
           | that shows you your heart rate and put in an amount of effort
           | that keeps your heart rate at about 60-70% of max. For now
           | that may be a brisk walking pace not even a jog. As you get
           | fitter your heart rate should come down for the equivalent
           | speed. I also used to go for runs and hit max within a few
           | minutes and stay there for the whole run but ultimately I
           | think I was just pushing too hard.
        
             | potamic wrote:
             | That's what I do, zone 2 training. I use a chest strap
             | monitor too. 30-45 min sessions, 2-3 days a week for months
             | altogether, mixing it up with intervals some times. I've
             | done this many times over in my life, never seeing any
             | improvement. Even today, the smallest of jogs will take me
             | to max HR within 10-15 min.
        
               | vasco wrote:
               | Is there any reason for such strictness with your heart
               | rate? I never measured anything and always progress up to
               | a nice speed, and then it's when it flattens. Mix up the
               | trainings and leave the HR monitor at home. Do ones where
               | you just sprint as often as you can and others where you
               | go slow, if you see some stairs during your run just
               | sprint over them, etc. Of course, only if you're a
               | regular person without existing heart issues.
        
               | xarope wrote:
               | Do you have any medical conditions?
               | 
               | Assuming you've had yourself checked up, and do not have
               | any medical conditions, then maybe you are just
               | aerobically deficient (https://uphillathlete.com/aerobic-
               | training/aerobic-deficienc...). Start slower, doesn't
               | matter if you are walking. In fact, if you are doing 3x45
               | mins of zone 2 each week, start doing 2x45mins of brisk
               | walking to keep your heart rate at zone 2. After about
               | 4-6 weeks, you should find that you can start jogging
               | again and hopefully (!) your heart rate doesn't peak so
               | fast.
               | 
               | (I'm assuming a lot of things here, namely that you know
               | what your LT1/LT2 are so that you can accurately
               | calculate your 5 zones;
               | https://www.trainingpeaks.com/learn/articles/joe-friel-s-
               | qui...)
        
           | Gigachad wrote:
           | It sounds dumb, but have you tried just running slower? And
           | using a watch or something to see your pace so you don't
           | subconsciously keep pushing faster.
        
             | potamic wrote:
             | Yes, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43076161
        
           | mattlondon wrote:
           | When I first started running outside, I had no idea on pace.
           | I ran at what I felt was "reasonable" and what I felt was
           | similar to my experience of treadmill runs. It was really
           | rough and hard work!
           | 
           | Tl;Dr - I got a basic thing that told me my pace (this was
           | pre-smartphones but basic wearables existed) and turned out
           | what I thought was relatively gentle and reasonable speed was
           | actually a really fast pace and totally unsustainable.
           | 
           | When I knew what my pace actually was, I could stick to a
           | much more sustainable (for me) ~5:30 min/km pace and it felt
           | soooo slow and embarrassing and like I was barely even moving
           | in comparison! But this was a much more realistic pace for a
           | tubby software engineer. And for a long time I had to keep
           | checking the pace as the speed would creep up during a run
           | and it took discipline to "stay slow".
           | 
           | I use the runkeeper app that has the option to do pace read
           | outs through your headphones every few minutes. I'd recommend
           | trying something like that, and perhaps try to begin with a
           | pace of like 6 or 7 min/km for 10-15 mins runs and stick to
           | it and see if that helps, before starting to extend duration
           | and speed after you've built some endurance. I've found
           | fitness and condition improves fairly rapidly - O(weeks).
           | Good luck.
        
             | potamic wrote:
             | I've done a lot of zone 2 training with no improvement -
             | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43076161
        
               | mattlondon wrote:
               | I would probably ignore anything about "zones" or
               | "intervals"-this or "intensity"-that. Bollocks to it all
               | - we are evolved and built to run. Just get out and move
               | in a way that feels comfortable to you.
               | 
               | Perhaps right now your fitness levels mean all you can do
               | is a brisk walk for 10 mins? That's totally fine. Don't
               | try and think you have to be following some workout plan
               | by doing some sort of "zone" thing or some "interval"
               | thing for X minutes. Listen to your body and take it
               | slow.
        
               | potamic wrote:
               | I did that for many years before attempting this. The
               | results are not very different end of the day, zone
               | training just seems to be a dumbed down framework to
               | ensure consistency.
        
           | phreeza wrote:
           | How did you determine your max? It's quite variable across
           | people, the age-based formulas are useless for most people.
        
             | potamic wrote:
             | Age based formula only. They stop the stress tests at this
             | point. I could probably go over this, but I'll be worried
             | about exerting the heart too much.
        
             | igouy wrote:
             | There are corrected formula.
             | 
             | "HRmax was univariately explained by the formula 211 -
             | 0.64*age, and we found no evidence of interaction with
             | gender, physical activity, VO2max level, or BMI groups. ...
             | Previously suggested prediction equations underestimated
             | measured HRmax in subjects older than 30 years."
             | 
             | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0838
             | ....
        
               | phreeza wrote:
               | That formula also doesn't have much better performance,
               | check out figure 2 in this study to get a feel for how
               | much variance is left over, no matter how good your model
               | is, age is just not enough:
               | 
               | https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/
               | 10....
        
               | igouy wrote:
               | As-it says in the Abstract I linked:
               | 
               | "HRmax predicted by age alone may be practically
               | convenient for various groups, although a standard error
               | of 10.8 beats/min must be taken into account."
               | 
               | Shall we say 150--190 95% CI for me? (Rarely do I make
               | enough effort to reach 155bpm.)
        
               | phreeza wrote:
               | Not sure I understand what you are trying to say, do you
               | find the prediction to be helpful? 150-190 BPM is such a
               | huge range, what useful information can be derived from
               | it?
        
               | igouy wrote:
               | It provides perspective and a target training effort.
               | 
               | I've done a good session if I push to 155 bpm. I don't
               | need to worry about finger-sticks for lactate accuracy,
               | because there's no-risk I'll do twice-a-day twice-a-week
               | threshold sessions.
               | 
               | If I'm not even in the low-end of that huge bpm range, I
               | quit and take a recovery day.
        
           | dh5 wrote:
           | If you are running less than 30 miles per week or so and
           | don't have multiple injury risk factors (e.g. prior history
           | of injury, being older, female) you can fairly safely run at
           | whatever pace you'd like and know that running more and
           | running faster will help you become faster.
           | 
           | The idea of "zone 2 training" that is peddled sometimes on
           | social media makes no sense if you're not running consistent
           | mileage and actively looking to run faster. At that point,
           | the idea is that you're minimizing injury risk in between 2+
           | hard efforts per week, while still getting in the miles.
        
           | fastasucan wrote:
           | Try to use the same effort you have for your 30/45 min
           | efforts just break them down into f.ex 3 min jog then 1 min
           | walking. Start with just the same speed.
        
           | thefz wrote:
           | > what my training looks like: zone 2 training with a chest
           | strap monitor
           | 
           | Not really going anywhere unless you step into
           | tempo/threshold/VO2 max training.
        
           | xarope wrote:
           | to echo what the others say, at such low mileage you probably
           | should mix in some threshold running (run at a fast pace you
           | can maintain for ~30mins) and not just depend on zone 2;
           | also, you should try to meet/exceed 45 minutes for zone 2.
        
           | scott_w wrote:
           | Just reading your other replies, I'm curious: did you test
           | your heart rate or did you use a calculator? The 220-your age
           | is completely incorrect for most people.
           | 
           | I prefer a lactate test, rather than max HR, because it's
           | "easier" for me to induce. Basically, run a 30 minute, even
           | paced, maximal effort. You then calculate your LT by removing
           | 5% off the pace and HR averages you got.
           | 
           | The important part is the pace must be reasonably even and
           | also maximum effort. So, it'll feel easy to start and by the
           | end you'll want to vomit. If you're lucky enough to live near
           | a Park Run, you can do this a few times instead to learn your
           | max effort pacing and work out Z2 from that.
        
           | kefirlife wrote:
           | My heart rate would also go up quickly for the first few
           | months. I would slow down and still find myself at a
           | threshold level effort. After 3-4 months of consistent
           | efforts my heart rate started to come down and I would only
           | reach threshold if really pushing it. It may be that you need
           | to slow down and give your body time to adjust. I also bike
           | and for a long time there was a huge disparity in my on bike
           | performance compared to my running performance. However, over
           | time my running performance has improved a lot and I finally
           | developed an easy gear.
           | 
           | I'm still slow when running, but then my goal is just to be
           | able to run and not get injured. I built from 5k, to 10k and
           | now can complete half marathon races on trails, which is a
           | lot of fun. I'm a big advocate for minimal footwear and
           | building strong feet. We are born to run, but modern footwear
           | is silly.
        
           | thoughtpalette wrote:
           | Have the same issue. You've probably already found out it's
           | called Cardiac Drift. I can run at the same pace for a 5k,
           | and my heart rate is linear up to max/max+ every time. I ran
           | ~500mi last year and it was the same almost every run. I
           | tried to slow down from ~8:50mi to ~10:00mi with no real
           | discernible difference. Kind of a bummer. Going to get my
           | arteries mapped out soon (former smoker).
        
           | paulpauper wrote:
           | same here. I crap out really fast despite a healthy 22 BMI.
           | Feet get sore, everything hurts, out of breath, pain
           | everywhere. So much for running ability being universally
           | evolutionary innate as some claimed by scientists. It's
           | highly variable, not something everyone can do well.
        
             | igouy wrote:
             | But what's your body age?
             | 
             | https://hvemereldst.no/en/
        
             | nasmorn wrote:
             | This year I will have run half the earths circumference at
             | some point. My feet still get sore, everything hurts, out
             | of breath, pain everywhere. Just takes longer now for that
             | to set in.
        
             | ajkjk wrote:
             | Anyone who doesn't run much feels that for a long time when
             | they statt. How long have you been at it?
             | 
             | Personally I feel like it started to feel better only when
             | I built some strength in the whole legs and core muscle
             | areas, such that they would all work together to make me
             | move. It's hard to describe. But if I run after sitting a
             | lot when everything is tight and seized up, I'll go back to
             | feeling like a beginner.
        
           | igouy wrote:
           | 1) The Cardiac Exercise Research Group at the NTNU has a
           | corrected HRmax calculator --
           | 
           | https://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/hrmax
           | 
           | -- and a Fitness Calculator --
           | 
           | https://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/vo2max
           | 
           | -- based on treadmill VO2max tests of thousands of
           | Norwegians.
           | 
           | Check your scores.
           | 
           | 2) You say your heart-rate shoots-up fast. Does your heart-
           | rate drop-down fast when you stop exercise?
           | 
           | At-rest maybe 50, warmup-jog maybe 100, then it depends on
           | the ambient temperature. If it's 85F then HR drifts up to 140
           | and flattens. If it's 50F then HR drifts to 110 and flattens.
           | Then it depends on effort. If it's 85F and hard then 155; if
           | it's 50F and hard then 135.
           | 
           | Last-time I looked my calculated HRmax was 170.
           | 
           | 3) I'm not offering medical advice. In my understanding HRmax
           | does not mean something bad will happen if heart rate goes
           | higher. HRmax means heart rate is unlikely to go higher.
           | 
           | Maybe trust your cardiologists?
        
           | 90ne1 wrote:
           | As a new runner, your heart rate will be really high. Unless
           | you have some notable cardiac risk it's not a big deal.
           | 
           | Ignore the zone 2 messaging for now. Zone 2 training is
           | basically useless for getting better at running when you're
           | just starting because a new runner staying in zone 2 is just
           | walking. You need to run to get better at running. For now,
           | just ignore heart rate and focus on how you feel. Do run/walk
           | and gradually work on increasing the time you run before you
           | stop to walk.
           | 
           | PS.
           | 
           | "Zone 2", "80/20" and the like is advice that's really meant
           | for intermediate runners starting to train more seriously and
           | it basically just means "it's better to run easy most of the
           | time so you can run more, and so when you do run hard you can
           | get full benefit because you're not already exhausted. "
           | 
           | It is good advice in context but has been spouted without
           | context by so many running youtubers and influencers that it
           | has probably done more harm than good.
        
         | justinator wrote:
         | I remember the first time I rode a bike for 30 miles, I
         | couldn't even sit down without intense cramping. I ate an
         | entire large pizza loaded with toppings.
         | 
         | Within a year, I rode a bike across the US.
         | 
         | The body adapts to the load it's given, provided enough time.
        
         | leokennis wrote:
         | I've been running for years but never got into that groove. I
         | know and can "sense" my body well enough now that I know I can
         | run for a long time with a 165 bpm heart rate, and I can adjust
         | my speed/effort to not exceed that bpm. But it's never
         | effortless or carefree running, it is really "stoking the
         | engine" with focus and precision...
         | 
         | I still enjoy hitting targets, improving my speed and technique
         | etc. but it is never a relaxing process.
        
           | vasco wrote:
           | Maybe never going slow enough? There should be a pace where
           | you can comfortably hold a conversation as if nothing is
           | happening, specially after years of running. It might just be
           | slower than you think, but "conversation pace" is how I think
           | about it.
        
             | lm28469 wrote:
             | Yep, slow down enough so that you don't sweat and can
             | breathe 100% through your nose. At first you'll be very
             | slow but if you keep on going weeks after week you'll
             | slowly get faster. A big part of it is mental too, if
             | you're in relatively good shape even as a complete beginner
             | your body shouldn't complain too much for at least an hour,
             | if you're experienced you should be able to sustain that
             | for hours
             | 
             | That's what I do as an amateur but then again I have no
             | running watch, I run in $15 shoes, I don't care about PR,
             | distance, &c. all I care about is slowly and safely
             | building cardiovascular endurance
        
           | LeonM wrote:
           | My story was exactly like yours. I have been running for many
           | years, did a few half marathons, but it never got easier. I
           | could never do the 'effortless' carefree running that I heard
           | so many talking about.
           | 
           | In 2021 I got COVID and couldn't run since. I'd be exhausted
           | and out of breath after just a kilometer or so, it was
           | frustrating to say the least. To overcome that I proposed a
           | 100-day running challenge with a buddy. We live in different
           | cities, so we just ran our own distance and speed we were
           | comfortable with. No tracking app, no stats, no target time
           | or distance, just go out every day and go for a run. First 50
           | days were frustrating, it took me weeks to just get up to
           | just 2km and then immediately plateaued. The around day 50 I
           | noticed I could slowly start to pick up distance. I
           | intentionally capped the distance to 6km or so, knowing that
           | a 100-day streak is not great for your body. The last 10 days
           | I decided to run 10km every day, which to my surprise I could
           | do effortlessly. And I noticed something else changed. I did
           | the 10km and then I... just wanted to keep going. I didn't
           | though, knowing that 10km a day was already a terrible idea
           | for someone of my age.
           | 
           | After the challenge I took 2 weeks to recover, and then I
           | just went for a long run, see what would happen. I did 16km
           | that day and other than noticing being low on energy at the
           | end, I never felt out of breath. I didn't set that as a
           | target, I just kept going until I no longer felt like going
           | further. I now regularly do a 25km run, but there are also
           | days where I do 10 and feel content. I don't bring my phone
           | or smartwatch, I don't track my time or progress, I don't set
           | targets, I don't care anymore. When it feels good I'll keep
           | going, and if not I'll just do a shorter route, I'm no longer
           | pushing myself. Running has now become my way of relaxing,
           | gathering my thoughts, enjoying being outside. It has become
           | effortless and carefree.
           | 
           | Maybe for everyone it's different, but in my N=1 experience I
           | just needed to stop chasing progress, don't set expectations,
           | no targets. Just get out there and enjoy yourself. Sometimes
           | I do still push myself just for fun to see what I'm now
           | capable of, but other than that I deliberately stay below my
           | limit.
           | 
           | Not sure what the takeaway from this story is supposed to be,
           | I just felt like sharing. Hopefully it helps someone finding
           | more enjoyment in running :-)
        
             | zimpenfish wrote:
             | The greatest improvement I got in running and general
             | fitness was early 2015 when I did the "do >=1km a day" for
             | 5 months. Often times it was a quick sprint around the
             | block just before midnight (and sometimes then resting
             | until after midnight to knock off the next day if I was
             | busy) but sometimes it was a decent distance. The
             | consistency was what really got everything flowing though.
        
             | leokennis wrote:
             | > I don't bring my phone or smartwatch, I don't track my
             | time or progress, I don't set targets, I don't care
             | anymore.
             | 
             | I'm jealous of this "Forrest Gump" mindset...I also run to
             | maintain/lose weight, so I use my watch (plus intuition, as
             | mentioned) to manage my pace/heart rate/effort so I can run
             | a long enough distance to burn enough calories.
             | 
             | Although I also realize and acknowledge all these stats are
             | probably at least 50% there to satisfy my caveman need for
             | external validation.
        
           | chneu wrote:
           | Trails. I've been running for over a decade and have never
           | once "enjoyed" a city or pavement run. A half marathon in the
           | city feels like torture but I can easily do 50k runs on
           | trails.
           | 
           | Humans aren't meant to run on pavement in the city or on
           | treadmills. It makes running much less enjoyable.
        
           | nasmorn wrote:
           | Unless your true max is at 195 or something 165 HR will not
           | feel effortless. I ran 25k at 132HR on Sunday and even there
           | the last 8k where no longer carefree. My HRmax is 186
           | currently and my threshold HR is about 170bpm.
        
             | leokennis wrote:
             | With the "220 minus your age" rule my max would be 182 bpm.
             | If I run at 175 bpm I can manage 30 minutes and run ~6K in
             | that time (and be very tired the rest of the day). 165 bpm
             | I can manage for an hour.
             | 
             | Beyond that, boredom and sore feet set in before cardio
             | becomes the limit. I can't imagine ever running 25K...even
             | at a low(er) HR. Maybe if I lose another 5 to 10 kg of
             | weight...
        
         | montebicyclelo wrote:
         | Top runners can run fast and far without it hurting. But when
         | going for personal bests / very fast times, my understanding is
         | that it is painful, for most of the run. E.g. watch some
         | parkrun vlogs, and you'll hear people say things like "after
         | the first 1km it's really painful, so just take things one step
         | at a time, and hold on to the pace", etc.
        
           | rojeee wrote:
           | "it never gets easier, you just get faster", or so the saying
           | goes
        
         | 11235813213455 wrote:
         | I guess you used highly cushioned shoes?
        
       | adharmad wrote:
       | Something about the East African runners is just built
       | differently to excel in endurance running. Probably a combination
       | of genetics and training.
        
         | defrost wrote:
         | if you can't beat the Kenyans then join them            Zane
         | Robertson famously moving from Hamilton in 2007 at age 17,
         | along with his twin brother Jake, in part to escape bullying
         | and a broken family, to live and train in Kenya with the hope
         | of mixing it among the best distance runners in the world.
         | 
         | . . . _and dabble in a bit of doping_ -
         | https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/athletics/2023/03/26/zane-r...
        
         | riffraff wrote:
         | I'd wager there's probably a social factor too: if for any
         | reason a given population is slightly better at X then X
         | becomes more popular which leads to more support, more
         | practitioners and in turn this becomes self-reinforcing.
        
           | k1kingy wrote:
           | Rugby in New Zealand is a good example of this. Our small
           | country with a small population is (and basically always has
           | been) one of the top teams in the world.
           | 
           | Not only at the elite level, but our junior teams and even
           | school teams perform well on the world stage.
           | 
           | Like you say, that social factor plays a huge part in it.
           | Support, funding, etc etc
        
             | ruthie_cohen wrote:
             | Similarly with Australians and swimming, or Dagestan and
             | combat sports.
        
             | aadhavans wrote:
             | Cricket in India comes to mind.
        
               | nasmorn wrote:
               | India has 1.4bn people. It is honestly weird they are not
               | dominating in more sports. Once they really move out of
               | being a developing nation and spend more on frivolous
               | pursuits like Olympic medals I bet they will do just
               | that.
        
         | 11235813213455 wrote:
         | 99.9% lifestyle & environment & education, 0.1% genetics, like
         | for intelligence
        
           | Graziano_M wrote:
           | intelligence is something like 60-80% heritable
        
             | thrance wrote:
             | It's mostly cultural. Your parent's background deeply
             | impacts your own and your relationship to education,
             | science culture. Read Bourdieu if you haven't already.
        
               | l0t0b0r0s wrote:
               | Its actually 60-80% heritable. The twin adoption study
               | showed that twins raised in different environment have
               | the same IQ. It also makes sense logically; why would
               | only physical characteristics be heritable and not mental
               | ones.
               | 
               | >Read Bourdieu "Bourdieu contended there is
               | transcendental objectivity, [definition needed] only when
               | certain necessary historical conditions are met."
               | 
               | This guy sounds like a midwit.
        
               | thrance wrote:
               | Correlation is not causation. Generally, adoptive
               | families in these studies come from similar socio-
               | economic backgrounds [1].
               | 
               | With your theory, how would you explain adopted refugees
               | children doing much better at IQ tests than they would
               | have if the stayed in their home countries?
               | 
               | Also dismissing Bourdieu as a midwit? Yeah, ok. Come back
               | when you actually want to expand your world view.
               | 
               | [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_IQ#He
               | ritabil...
        
               | rbtkngofauc wrote:
               | >It's mostly cultural. Your parent's background deeply
               | impacts [...]
               | 
               | Bruh
        
             | 11235813213455 wrote:
             | it's only heritable in the sense that intelligent parents
             | will spend time with their child
        
         | aithrowawaycomm wrote:
         | A lot of these runners come from ethnic groups which live in
         | highlands and mountains: extensive aerobic training in lower-O2
         | environments, then competing at standard elevations, seems to
         | be the most important advantage:
         | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225064362_Kenyan_an...
         | 
         | There is probably a minor genetic component, microevolution
         | promoting higher hemoglobin/etc than average, similarly to many
         | Tibetans. But childhood conditioning seems to be a more
         | powerful effect.
        
       | vivzkestrel wrote:
       | 20 kms in 57 mins??? goddamn that is like a km every 3 mins and
       | that too on a sustained run.
        
         | kazinator wrote:
         | 21.1 in under 57.
        
         | smm11 wrote:
         | No, that's something like 4:19 miles, or 64.9 400 meter runs,
         | for nearly an hour.
        
           | canucker2016 wrote:
           | for a breakdown of his run, see Total Running Productions'
           | analysis agt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8jJu04QcK4
           | 
           | His middle 10K (5K-15K) took 26:13, which is 2 seconds off
           | the 10K track world record.
        
             | wging wrote:
             | That reported 26:13 split is incorrect. It was actually
             | 26:33, which is still crazy fast but more in line with the
             | rest of the race.
             | 
             | > his 15km split was initially recorded as 39:47 before it
             | was confirmed after the race as 40:07, improving his own
             | world best.
             | 
             | (5km was 13:34)
             | 
             | https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-
             | labe...
        
         | elevaet wrote:
         | Half marathon in 57min is 2:42/km :0
         | 
         | I'm an ok hobby runner and I'm not even sure I can hit that
         | speed momentarily on a downhill.
        
           | riffraff wrote:
           | For an additional reference: the 100m Olympic times are ~10s,
           | so if you'd run at a sprinter pace it'd be 1:40/km. Marathon
           | times are insane.
        
           | userbinator wrote:
           | 6.2m/s or 22km/h (20ft/s or 13.8mph). The average human can
           | definitely sprint faster than that, but obviously can't keep
           | up that speed for long.
        
             | mplewis9z wrote:
             | I'm in fairly good shape from biking pretty much every day
             | and my average _cycling_ speed on my hybrid bike is below
             | that, my goodness. If I'm on a completely flat trail,
             | carrying nothing else with me, and I'm really pushing it I
             | can average about 16 mph for an hour but to know that
             | there's someone out there running as fast as I bike is
             | absurd.
        
               | scns wrote:
               | 16 > 13.8 no?
        
             | buybackoff wrote:
             | When I was running marathons and in good shape, I tried to
             | reach Kipchoge's marathon pace on 100m. I did not reach it
             | by a tiny margin. I disliked and never trained for short
             | distanced and that was a single attempt for fun after 5K
             | jogging, which was more a warm-up than a load. My shape was
             | definitely above "the average human" at that time. Their
             | speed is incomprehensible.
        
             | patrick0d wrote:
             | the average human certainly can not run that fast.
             | treadmills in gyms usually cap at 20km/h and how many
             | people on the street do you think could handle it? (very
             | few of course)
        
         | bigbacaloa wrote:
         | Folks who don't run may not appreciate how ridiculous this is.
         | For most normal people this speed is near an all out sprint ...
         | for 21 km. Most folks you know who run 10ks can't keep up with
         | this guy for more than about half a km, if that much (a typical
         | 50min 10k runner can't run a 1k in 3 minutes).
        
           | vivzkestrel wrote:
           | i sprint regularly like 4 times a week but holy hell i can do
           | a max 1 km not 21 loool and even with that, it wont be
           | halfway close to world record time
        
       | dinp wrote:
       | The article mentions, he is going to run the marathon, looking
       | forward to what he can do in that distance. I feel it's only a
       | matter of time until someone breaks the 2 hour barrier in an
       | official race. Lot of people thought it would be Kelvin Kiptum,
       | unfortunately he passed away in an accident.
        
         | elevaet wrote:
         | His death was so tragic. I believe his coach also died in the
         | car accident.
        
         | kaffekaka wrote:
         | Without a doubt Kiptum would have done it. It will be an
         | absolutely insane achievement, but as you say, it is only a
         | matter of time. No pun intended.
        
         | DrBazza wrote:
         | I thought you were talking about Wanjiru at first. Who knows
         | how fast he might have gone.
         | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Wanjiru
        
       | rurban wrote:
       | Sports press is a joke. Didn't they talk a single time to a
       | runner yet? They didn't find find out about the carbon shoe
       | revolution yet, but triathlon had already banned them!
        
         | k1kingy wrote:
         | Triathlon hasn't banned carbon shoes. They follow the same
         | rules that World Athletics follows.
        
           | rurban wrote:
           | They banned it 4 days ago https://tri-
           | today.com/2025/02/these-running-shoes-have-been-...
        
             | ATMLOTTOBEER wrote:
             | These are banned for the stack height not the plate.
        
               | 90ne1 wrote:
               | To your point, none of the ASICS shoes listed even have a
               | plate. Two of them are basic daily trainers, so it's more
               | to do with the letter of the law, re: stack height, than
               | specific performance benefits.
        
       | bramhaag wrote:
       | Kiplimo is managed by Rosa, who was involved in some of the most
       | famous doping cases in the sport [1] [2]. This new record is a
       | bit suspicious (a relatively new record broken by 49s) and WADA
       | has stopped caring about doping...
       | 
       | This is the 5th running record broken in a week (2x 1 mile, 3k,
       | 5k, and now HM), the other ones being indoor times that match the
       | current outdoor records. I wonder if they will start banning
       | certain shoe technologies during races now, but of course they
       | cannot ban athletes from using illegal shoes during training.
       | 
       | [1] https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/sports/2015/04/13/ak-suspends-
       | ro...
       | 
       | [2] https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/italian-agent-
       | charged...
        
         | hiq wrote:
         | > they will start banning certain shoe technologies during
         | races now
         | 
         | I think that's already the case, isn't it? For instance:
         | https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/vienna-marathon-win...
         | 
         | > they cannot ban athletes from using illegal shoes during
         | training.
         | 
         | I don't understand why you would in the first place, what would
         | be the reasoning here?
         | 
         | I think one reason for anti-doping regulation is health, you
         | don't want athletes breaking a world record one day and die the
         | next. And doping during training definitely gets you some
         | advantage, sometimes even years after, so the competition is no
         | longer fair. But I don't see the harm with equipment such as
         | shoes, if used only during training.
        
           | jebarker wrote:
           | > I don't understand why you would in the first place, what
           | would be the reasoning here?
           | 
           | I don't know for sure but if the shoes relieve stress on some
           | parts of the body, e.g. leg joints or muscles, you can get
           | more time training other parts at higher intensity with less
           | injury risk?
        
             | mjrpes wrote:
             | You would ban a shoe simply because it reduces the chance
             | of injury? That's like, the sole reason shoes exist.
        
               | jebarker wrote:
               | Sorry, I misunderstood the parent. I thought they were
               | questioning why someone would wear these shoes for
               | training.
        
           | blah2244 wrote:
           | The rule since 2020 (when supershoes really started taking
           | over) has been 40mm stack height/1 carbon plate:
           | https://worldathletics.org/news/press-release/modified-
           | rules...
           | 
           | As for training, that's a pretty contentious topic in the
           | running community right now -- some recent research concluded
           | that training in supershoes might actually impair race
           | performance: https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-
           | performance/su...
        
           | bramhaag wrote:
           | > I think that's already the case, isn't it?
           | 
           | afaik, only the stack height is regulated. Specific
           | technologies like foam, carbon plates etc. are not.
           | 
           | > I don't understand why you would in the first place, what
           | would be the reasoning here?
           | 
           | Personally I'd love to see more shoe development, but I image
           | that if you feel that using supershoes during races is
           | cheating, you'd feel the same about using them while
           | training.
        
             | hyperpape wrote:
             | It's not obvious to me why you'd ban those shoes during
             | training.
             | 
             | You ban doping during training because it gives an
             | advantage at race time. I don't see the analogous reasoning
             | for shoes.
        
       | bisRepetita wrote:
       | _Kiplomo now has his sights set on the marathon, and said he will
       | be resting until the London Marathon in April_
       | 
       | I'd love to know what "resting" means for this guy practically.
        
         | rappatic wrote:
         | Professional distance runners like Kiplimo typically run in
         | excess of 130 miles per week, with at least two hard workouts
         | and a long run of 20-25 miles. He will probably return to that
         | level for most of March and a week in early April. The London
         | Marathon isn't until April 28, and 10 weeks is plenty of time
         | for him to get a mini training block in.
        
         | blah2244 wrote:
         | Yeah, as the other commentator mentioned, it practically just
         | means he won't be entering any other competitions until April.
         | He'll probably cover >1000 miles in training over that period
         | :)
        
       | rappatic wrote:
       | Posters on LetsRun.com noted that Kiplimo was close enough to the
       | lead car to potentially draft off it and avoid wind resistance.
       | It is hard to otherwise account for the giant leap in performance
       | we saw here today. In fact, his 10km split between the 5km and
       | 15km marks was faster than he has ever run for 10km on the track.
       | Perhaps the course was slightly short? As someone who follows
       | elite running extremely closely, I highly doubt this record was
       | legitimate. These massive time drops typically indicate something
       | is off.
        
       | passive wrote:
       | "Kiplimo ran at an average speed of 22.3 kilometers-per-hour"
       | 
       | I'm not sure I could sustain this pace for 1 minute, let alone
       | 57. Incredible.
        
         | oldpersonintx wrote:
         | whenever someone uses the phrase: _" it's not a sprint, it's a
         | marathon"_, I suggest they go to a world-class marathon and
         | watch the first few runners
         | 
         | these folks are basically at a light sprint
        
           | Rendello wrote:
           | Elite marathoners have the composition of my jog in the park
           | at the speed of my full sprint!
        
           | swalling wrote:
           | Elite marathon runners are in no way, shape, or form
           | sprinting. It's just that both are inconceivably fast to the
           | average untrained person. Usain Bolt's top foot speed was
           | 44.72 km/h in the 100 meters. The fastest marathon was 20
           | km/h.
        
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