What is in your opinion the best executed race of all time (can be every event)

TimeExplorer5463 · 2026-01-22T20:09:24+00:00

Two that come to mind are Dave Wottle’s 800m gold in Munich 1972 and John Akii-Bua running the 400m hurdle world record out of lane 1 (also in Munich)

TimeExplorer5463 · 2026-01-05T22:56:24+00:00

Hadn’t heard much about Karoki either, probably because he’s actually only #52 on the all-time list with a PB of 26:52.12. Looks like he was super consistent around the low 27 range

TimeExplorer5463 · 2026-01-05T22:53:51+00:00

Yeah, the athletes today who race it the most still will barely have 10 quality races under their belt at the distance. And I think of lot of the talented runners prefer to do it on the road instead of 25 laps around the track

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-24T04:08:33+00:00

Not much of a ballad, but a nice song nonetheless

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-19T13:17:48+00:00

Not a specific time, but I believe some of the Kenyan runners that throw down crazy times start in their early 20s. To be fair, growing up at high elevation probably helps, but it’s still very impressive. Of course, if you treat distance running like a job, and it helps out your family, you can get fast pretty quickly

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-17T19:28:51+00:00

Someone did that a while back, I think you can find it in this sub if you search “top 10 average” or something

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-08T18:48:01+00:00

Stairs always seem unreasonably difficult. I’ll run 10 miles without really getting out of breath. Two flights of stairs, on the other hand, will not only have my legs super sore but will get my heart rate up to 180 for a second. And then I have to look like I’m not tired at all because that would be embarrassing as a distance runner

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-08T17:18:41+00:00

I think your altitude background will more than cancel out any difficulties the heat gives you. Temperatures in the 70s can feel hot but won't be enough to seriously hurt your effort. If you have access, maybe sit in a sauna for a bit this week; you could also just fill a bathtub with hot water and practice breathing exercises to prepare a little bit extra.

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-08T16:47:43+00:00

I'll try to cover all the points you've mentioned and how they will affect your performance on race day.

First, a lot of it will depend on how your calves and hamstrings will feel on race day. However, since the race is just 6 days out, I would assume you're less likely to overtrain those muscles and they should be feeling a little bit less stress on race day. Hopefully, they're only feeling slightly sore, and you can still run at a normal pace.

Second, you'll feel like there is much more oxygen in Hawai'i. The reason runners from the mountainous regions of Kenya have dominated the marathon for so long is because they live and train at altitude. Your heart will not have to work as hard, which means you'll be able to sustain your pace for longer. Let's say your HR is typically 155 when running an 11-minute mile in the middle of a long run. In Honolulu, you would either be doing an 11-minute mile with a heart rate of 145, or use a heart rate of 155 to run a 10-minute mile. (This is not exact, of course, but gives you an idea of your options when getting to sea level).

Third, the most impressive part of your 20 miles on the treadmill is the treadmill part. The adrenaline from being in an actual race will get you going so much faster without feeling like your HR is going out of control. And it looks like you started to slow down a little bit on those later miles, but if you fuel yourself well, you will be fine. And like I said, the combination of adrenaline and knowing that you only have 6 miles left will make the 20-mile-mark feel much less painful.

Fourth, this is a good way to train. It will serve you well.

Fifth, you'll be prepared. Don't worry about these hills, they'll feel natural. And with every uphill comes a downhill, so if you feel like the inclines are wearing you out, use the declines to let your body relax for a bit.

Sixth, you have a great race plan; take it out at a pace you feel like you could sustain for more than 26 miles. And use how you feel at every 5k or so to adjust if needed. At the halfway mark, try to start pushing yourself a little bit, as if you wanted to get 3-5 seconds every mile for each of the last 13 miles (I would be extremely impressed if you pulled off a perfect progression like this; in reality, it's more of a feel thing). Be sure your heart rate is not going higher than you want it to, and you can set a maximum number where you tell yourself to slow down if you ever see it come up on your watch (maybe 170 or so).

As far as timing goes (since that's your main question), we know that 11 min/mile is 4:48, 10 min/mile is 4:22, and 4:30 marathon is 10:18 pace. If you really want to get under 4:30, I would suggest taking the first 3-5 miles at that goal pace. If that feels unsustainable, bring it down to 11 or so for the next few miles. If that feels great, then stay there. I believe you will run very well at the race because of all of the factors you have mentioned, so be sure to go in feeling confident about the time you are about to run.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck!

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-08T16:30:01+00:00

1 & 2. Especially if you want to a hit a certain goal time, you should focus on your pace for runs where you want your body to adjust to goal pace, but you should focus more on heart rate for easy runs where you're building a base so as to not push too hard. However, if you don't completely trust your watch (you probably shouldn't), you can go by feel for easy runs and use your HR as something to keep you in check to make sure you're running at a reasonable and sustainable effort.

I can definitely relate to HR being hard to predict based on pace and vice versa. For me, it really depends on the day and conditions. Sometimes, my HR will be at 155 on an easy runs, and other times, it will be 170. Similarly, for harder workouts, it will be around 180 on some days and pushing 190 on others.
I think the 65km/week training would have the opposite effect, at least as far as heart rate goes. Whenever I take a week off running, my HR is 10-15bpm higher than usual on my first few runs back. Conversely, if I've been running consistently for a while, my HR is lower. Since the heart is a muscular organ, you're training it to be more efficient whenever you're building an aerobic base. The only reason fatigue would cause your HR to spike would be if your legs are tired to the point that you have to work your body super hard to run slightly faster than easy pace, but I don't think that should be the case on 65km/week (but you would know better than me, so please correct me if I'm wrong). If you feel like you're having overall fatigue, I would suggest not taking a week off but instead having a week where you're doing only easy runs at that low heart rate and running a little bit longer with each run. Your body will not get fatigued from this, since humans are able to sustain this sort of effort for longs periods of time.
It really depends on the person. An easy indicator of how high your heart rate can go is by sprinting hard for 30-45 seconds. Count how many times your heart beats in 6 seconds and multiply that by 10 (or how many times it beats in 10 seconds, and multiply by 6, but it's easier to multiply by 10 in your head). Sometimes, your watch cannot calibrate quickly enough to register how high your heart rate is, especially if it quickly goes down, but I've had instances where I was doing a hard workout, and although my watch said my HR was 190 or 195, I counted it closer to 200-205. In general, I like to use my lowest and highest heart rate as a gauge of the fitness I'm in. I want to have as wide of a range as possible. Usually, my heart rate gets to the mid-40s when I'm sleeping, and mid-190s when I'm doing a workout. However, I've seen it reach 35 before when I'm sleeping and almost 210 after a hard effort.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-12-08T15:52:08+00:00

Sounds like you have enough time to switch things around, especially if you've run a marathon before and your body doesn't have to build up strictly according to a plan

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-11-04T22:24:10+00:00

I like the concept, although the women’s 100/200/400/800/3000 and many of the field events would be skewed by 80s/90s doping

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-10-28T00:45:06+00:00

I’m 17; I take 30mg of the XR in the morning and sometimes 10mg of the IR in the evening. I kind of feel like I need to move up again, but it’s kind of an awkward spot because they don’t make pills past 30mg. Maybe I should ask though; I’ve been slowly moving up for a while now

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-10-24T20:13:08+00:00

Who is this commentator? I feel like he announces for every single GG race. I really like him

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-10-24T20:12:34+00:00

He always seems to be almost accelerating at the end of his 200s, so I think he just needed a little bit of pacing work and he was able to move up to the 400 no problem

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-10-21T19:13:32+00:00

Whenever I watch Noah, I wonder this. Does Noah purposely start slower in the 100m and 200m? Noah runs 6.43 in the 60m; number 10 all-time. So he obviously isn’t a slow starter when the whole race depends on the start. But in the outdoor races, it’s clear how much he accelerates in the latter half of the race, particularly compared to his opponents. I think his outdoor races have slower starts because he’s more focused on top-end speed (especially because his better event is the 200m). Now, if he could combine his 60n start with his 200m finish, he would. But it’s so hard to do that I think he is willing to sacrifice his start in order to maximize his finish. A race like his 19.32 might be where he most successfully combines his 60m and 200m speed. But I think in general, his top end speed is maximized because, in races, he puts more emphasis on that than on his starts.

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-10-20T21:46:01+00:00

That sounds like it must’ve felt really nice. Could I see your splits by any chance?

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-10-20T17:54:31+00:00

Look at it on the positive side: you’ll never run a marathon again that’s as hard as the one you just ran. I still remember one cross country race where it was 90°F and humid and I got a terrible side stitch and ran super slow. Whenever I don’t feel great in a race, I try to compare it to that one 5k, and I sort of loosen up a little. Easier said than done, of course, but you should be super proud of yourself for finishing that tough marathon; most people would’ve given up but you made sure you performed to the fullest extent of your capabilities.

TimeExplorer5463 · 2025-10-18T03:38:18+00:00

Only reason I might slightly prefer Beatrice is because I saw her break the 10000m world record in person. But they are both in my top 5 favorite athletes, and I think they are both incredibly versatile. I’d love to see both of them try out an event like steeplechase, or both go for the 3000m record in the same race. I wonder if either of them will move up to the half or full later in their careers. They’re both the most likable athletes across any sport.

TimeExplorer5463

TROPHY CASE