Again, I think Dan is right, but I don't think that means throw the averages out the window. All other things being equal between two great runners, the one closer to the average body type for that event will probably be better. And yes, I know that all other things are rarely equal.
Also remember that we are not talking about "back in the pack" here, we are talking about the top ten in the world. Certainly athletes that most of use should be interested in watching. - Ed P. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Kaplan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003 2:14 AM Subject: Re: t-and-f: How big? > That gets to the unstated part of my previous post (below), which is that > the physical averages will determine the best suited "average" (average > for an elite, that is) runner per discipline, but a great runner will be a > great runner regardless of body type. That sorta throws all the averages > out the window, unless what you're interested in is what it takes to > finish back in the pack. > > Dan > > --- edndana <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I tend to think you're both right - lighter 10K guys can and do move up, > > but > > the average numbers will continue to be heavier for the marathoners > > because > > on average there is a little more muscle resistance required. > > > > Now here's an interesting question - at what point between 10K and > > marathon > > would the scale start to tip to the heavier (pun not intended!)? If the > > marathon was on the track, would we not see the difference (I still > > think > > we'd see some difference). If the hour run was contested regularly, > > would > > those athletes be lighter than the 10K athletes? If the 10K on the road > > was > > an Olympic event, would those athletes be built more like marathoners or > > 10K > > track runners. > > > > - Ed Parrot > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Dan Kaplan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Sent: Monday, October 13, 2003 8:42 PM > > Subject: Re: t-and-f: How big? > > > > > > > --- alan tobin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > In the marathon you must have muscles and connective tissue strong > > > > enough to handle the pounding. > > > > > > That's been a commonly held belief for some time now, but I think it's > > > being pretty heavily refuted by the current crop of 5k/10k studs > > > re-writing the record books. Tergat, Geb, Radcliffe, and now Rutto > > come > > > to mind, and Laroupe and Khannouchi did their share of track running > > > before focusing on the roads. As far as I know, their respective > > > physiologies haven't changed as they've moved up. > > > > > > Dan > > ===== > http://AbleDesign.com - Web Design & Custom Programming > http://Run-Down.com - 10,000 Running Links, Fantasy T&F > ------------------------------------------------------------ > @ o Dan Kaplan - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > <|\/ <^- ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) > _/ \ \/\ (503)370-9969 phone/fax > / / > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search > http://shopping.yahoo.com >
