Can an untrained person win a half-marathon?
GiddyupTim
Posts: 2,819 Member
Okay, maybe I am bitter. I admit it. But, this is about my neighbor and he has never been very nice to us.
Maybe I should be more charitable, and not so suspicious. But I am really skeptical about a recent accomplishment of his.
Yesterday, my wife received a call from his wife. (Who, unlike her husband, is a peach.) She knows we run, so they figured we would be interested, and would celebrate with the feat of her husband and son.
The feat was this: Yesterday, there was a half-marathon here. My neighbor and his 13-year-old son came in third for two-person, male, relay teams, with a time of 1 hour and 51 minutes.
But, here's the deal. I have never once -- in 13 years of living here -- seen the guy go out for a run. I work out of my home. I am not gone a lot. I think I would have seen him, at least once, if he ran at all.
I know he swims at the Y, maybe, once a week. I know he periodically rides his big-tired bike a mile or so to work.
His son plays competitive soccer.
But, if the time we were told is correct, they ran at a pace better than nine minutes per mile, for 13 miles!
Has anyone ever heard of someone who could go out, completely untrained, and run an 8-minute-mile pace for six plus miles?
Maybe I should be more charitable, and not so suspicious. But I am really skeptical about a recent accomplishment of his.
Yesterday, my wife received a call from his wife. (Who, unlike her husband, is a peach.) She knows we run, so they figured we would be interested, and would celebrate with the feat of her husband and son.
The feat was this: Yesterday, there was a half-marathon here. My neighbor and his 13-year-old son came in third for two-person, male, relay teams, with a time of 1 hour and 51 minutes.
But, here's the deal. I have never once -- in 13 years of living here -- seen the guy go out for a run. I work out of my home. I am not gone a lot. I think I would have seen him, at least once, if he ran at all.
I know he swims at the Y, maybe, once a week. I know he periodically rides his big-tired bike a mile or so to work.
His son plays competitive soccer.
But, if the time we were told is correct, they ran at a pace better than nine minutes per mile, for 13 miles!
Has anyone ever heard of someone who could go out, completely untrained, and run an 8-minute-mile pace for six plus miles?
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I have a friend that runs once a week maybe twice max. She hadn't run in 3 months and decides to go do a 18 mile race and finishes it with a 9:52 pace. I couldn't believe it.
So you never know.0 -
I have no reason not to believe their story.
The son already runs a lot due to being a competitive soccer player
The father may run fairly often too (at the Y before or after swimming perhaps) but just not outside near where you live.
You mentioned it was a relay race so they both only had to run half the distance.
Even if the dad rarely runs, it is very possible that the son could run much faster that the pace you quoted to make up for the difference during his relay portion.0 -
Also, 1:51 isn't all that fast to place highly in a half marathon so the field must not have been full of regular half marathon runners. I was undertrained, injured and a little overweight and I ran my second half in 2:07, so if they're in decent shape a 1:51 isn't unheard of even if they didn't specifically train for it.0
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I agree with minimalist. After all, the half relay is only 6.5 miles each, the father could have taken over an hour and the son picked up the last part for a win. Easily doable if a relay.0
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Oh, you people are no fun at all !
Can't you see: I DON"T WANT TO BELIEVE IT!
And, nobody answered my specific question, except maybe Kenneth. (But, a 10-minute mile pace for someone who runs is not the same.)
My question was: Do you know of anyone who has gone out and run six miles at a pace better than 9-minutes-per-mile -- completely untrained?
I get that 'maybe' it is possible. I want to know if anyone can confirm that it is possible.
Cuz I am not sure. Except maybe if you win the battle at Marathon and have to get back to Athens really quickly . . .
P.S. I have seen him at the Y. I would bet my lunch money he does not run before swimming.0 -
I do most of my running starting around 4:30 in the morning. I think I only have one neighbor that knows I'm a runner and that's because we've talked about it. There's another guy that is always out running when I'm walking my dog; I always feel like telling him "I'm a runner, too!" but I'm sure he just sees me as the lady that walks the greyhound with a limp.
Also, back when I was in school, the soccer players were amongst the fittest of the athletes. I remember a drill that the football players had to do in order to make the team was a cool down drill for the soccer team.
So, yes, it's possible.0 -
I heard soccer players can end running 5-6 miles in a 90 minute game (not sure how long they play as kids). 6.5 miles isn't that big a stretch and that pace isn't anything close to what it take to win half marathons (or relays) in my area.
So bottom line, it's good for a non-runner but neither spectacular nor unbelievable.0 -
#1. it's a relay. they each ran 6.55 miles at 9 min pace
#2 I am pretty sure they did not "win" with that time. If they did then that is the biggest joke of a race I've ever heard of in my life.
It is totally possible. You don't know what they do/where they run/if they run.
Even if they both don't run- 9 min pace for 6.55 would not surprise me for a male never running as crazy as that sounds...0 -
Sounds believable as long as he's in decent shape. If he were 100 pounds over weight then I would say he's lying. My husband took up running, after not having run in 20 years, and pretty much started out at that pace. Sucks, but some people are naturally gifted. Sorry your neighbor's a jerk.
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A guy I work with and I ran the same half back in May. He barely trained, got up to 6 miles. I didn't train the way I meant to, due to being sidelined for 4 weeks due to pneumonia, but my long runs were regularly up to 10 and 11 miles at the time and I had run one before. He came in at 2:01 and I came in at 2:11:46. Of course the next day he was hobbling about the office, and I was fine and even went for a gentle run. Of course no one remembes that part, they just remember that I was beat by the guy that doesn't run.
It's annoying, but even untrained people run half marathons faster than I do, I sadly accept this.0 -
this is funny, it's something I would question as well!
I wonder about the competition though, perhaps they really were the best of the pack.
The annoying thing is the gloating, I'd definitely be annoyed as well! I don't mind praising someone humble, but someone cocky, I'd rather keep my mouth shut than give them praise--- I'm bitter too!
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I find it rather funny that you even care.
But to address the 6 miles @ 9 min pace, my brother never ran, ever. He was short & a little stocky while I ran track as a sprinter. We had a local 5k in town and he beat me & run a 7 something pace. I'm quite certain that he could have went 6-6.5 miles at under a 9 pace.0 -
I find it rather funny that you even care.
But to address the 6 miles @ 9 min pace, my brother never ran, ever. He was short & a little stocky while I ran track as a sprinter. We had a local 5k in town and he beat me & run a 7 something pace. I'm quite certain that he could have went 6-6.5 miles at under a 9 pace.
I don't even know your brother and already I don't like him! :P0 -
I heard soccer players can end running 5-6 miles in a 90 minute game (not sure how long they play as kids). 6.5 miles isn't that big a stretch and that pace isn't anything close to what it take to win half marathons (or relays) in my area.
So bottom line, it's good for a non-runner but neither spectacular nor unbelievable.
Actually, until 2 years ago, I played soccer. And yes, a few years ago they put GPS devices on the US women's National Team and some others to see how far they ran in a game. The midfielders, who run the most, ran about 6-7 miles per game. But the other players did not.
That said, professionals like that tend to play on a much bigger field, and they are much more aggressive. They won't have their position long unless they bust their butt.
I am pretty sure -- no, I know -- that 13-year-old soccer players do not play on a field that big very often, and they do not run that far in a game.
Thank you, Elizabeth. But, I have to say, your guy trained, even if it wasn't very much! My neighbor does not. I run. I work from home -- so I am there all day. I get up at 5 pm. My wife goes out to run at 5:45-6:00 am every morning.
She has never seen him running. I have never seen him running. I have seen him at the Y, and he does not go there very often. He does not run on a treadmill.
No, my neighbor and his son did not "win" the race. But, they did come in third for the male relay groups. And, this is a race that has over 4,000 half-marathon runners.
I apologize if I sound ungrateful for your responses. I am not. Thank you. I realize it is an impossible question. I am just rather flabbergasted.
I just wanted to know if anyone else actually knows someone who has done that.0 -
I find it rather funny that you even care.
But to address the 6 miles @ 9 min pace, my brother never ran, ever. He was short & a little stocky while I ran track as a sprinter. We had a local 5k in town and he beat me & run a 7 something pace. I'm quite certain that he could have went 6-6.5 miles at under a 9 pace.
I told you. I care because it irks me! He has not been the nicest neighbor. But, I am also just astounded. I know that people can go out and do a four-minute run and kill it. I know a kid in good shape can go out and rip off a mile if motivated. My son ran a 5K when he was 12 years in something like 19 minutes.
But, six miles? I think that is something different altogether. You gotta have adrenaline to do that.
That said, I believe your brother could have maintained his 7-minute-mile pace. I have seen brothers compete, and it can be a savage thing. Many younger brothers, in particular, would die before losing.0 -
Really not that implausible at all. If the son is a "competitive" soccer player then he could very likely run 6.55 miles in, say, 45 minutes, perhaps even faster. That leaves 66 minutes for the father to complete his portion-- over a 10-minute pace. That is very doable for a man who is in good cardiovascular health, even if he doesn't run much. Without direct evidence of cheating I think you have to believe they did this.
That said, it's not actually a very competitive time, especially for a relay. In any half marathon I have been in, 1:51 would have been WAY out of the awards for someone running the whole thing solo, let alone in a relay. I ran a 1:26 last February and was 7th in the 45-49 age group.0 -
I have no seen untrained people actually win, but I have had them kick my trained butt all over. I would come in at 1:55 and they would come in about 1:48. So possible. I believe some people just have natural abilities and probably genetically gifted biomechanics. We have alot of runners in my clubs that are like this. even seen overweight people run great distance times. I, on the other hand am 6' and 173 lbs, and am lucky to hit 1:55 on a half. My VO2 just sucks. I train optimally, not maximally, and have improved slowly over the years.0
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My husband is one of those naturally gifted people. I run and run and run and run and will never be able to beat him. He can sit on the couch for MONTHS and MONTHS, get up, go run 2 miles in 15 minutes for his PT test, and go back to vegging out. I try not to be bitter and so far have managed to not poison him while he is sitting there. We did a half marathon together ONCE (he refuses to pay to run when the Army pays him to run as he puts it). I trained for months. He ran here and there when his work schedule permitted. I felt like puking at the finish. He was fine. I ran it in 2:01. He did as well. I put in over 200 miles of training. He put in maybe, MAYBE 85. Sigh, This is the crap that makes me hate him while loving him fiercely.
So I would believe it is possible. Some people just get to do that. I want to kick them in the shins, but that might break a toe and then I would be back on the IR list!0 -
Most race times are verifiable online. Can you look them up?0
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SURE CAN!0
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SURE CAN!
Let the doubt end here:
http://results.bazumedia.com/event/results/event/event-2430
There was a male relay team (I am omitting the team name from this public forum) that finished in 1:51 flat
This time earned them 3rd place for the male relay division
In case anyone is curious, it appears there were some very fast runners present. Three runners finished the half (individual not relay) in under 1:070 -
"My son ran a 5K when he was 12 years in something like 19 minutes.
But, six miles? I think that is something different altogether. You gotta have adrenaline to do that."
if you can run a 19 min 5k (6:07 per mile) you will be able to run 6.55 miles @ 9:00 pace easily. I believe the word you were looking for is ENDURANCE. You don't believe someone who can run a 19 min 5k can successfully run 6.55 miles at 9 min pace? Are you a runner?
On a side note- The woman who holds all of my old college's cross country & track (5k & 10k) records was a SOCCER player prior to joining cross country her sophomore year. She never ran a day in her life, but at her first meet she was running sub 17 for a 5k and WINNING meets. I believe soccer may have sightly helped in developing her endurance skills as I do not know many people who go from 0 to running running 36 min 10ks and 17 min 5ks.0 -
SURE CAN!
Let the doubt end here:
http://results.bazumedia.com/event/results/event/event-2430
There was a male relay team (I am omitting the team name from this public forum) that finished in 1:51 flat
This time earned them 3rd place for the male relay division
In case anyone is curious, it appears there were some very fast runners present. Three runners finished the half (individual not relay) in under 1:07
Yes, minimalist. That is the race. It is a local institution. Much fun. But, sometimes troubled. Used to be called the "Cowtown," but it turned out another race in Texas had that moniker, and they had to change the name.
Last year, one of the pace setters took a wrong turn, and so did every runner following for the next half an hour, so that about two-thirds of the race finishers ended up running an extra two miles. The race organizers apologized, but there was not a lot else they could do.
And, vmclach, I meant adrenaline. They don't have endurance because they have trained. They do it because they are keyed up.
Again, I have no problem understanding that someone with a natural advantage, or someone who sprinted in soccer, could come out and kick butt in a 5k. But, I am a bit perplexed how they could do a longer distance. But, then, obviously, they can.0
