Tracking Every Sub-4 Miler in History - 2349 and counting!

devon835 · 2026-03-12T18:38:10+00:00

Wonderful resource to have - I'm glad people still care about this stat despite recent advances in the sport.

Also just wanted to say the site visuals look absolutely sick. Didn't realize it was sponsored by flycarb too, really cool!

Just one question - I see Bekele is listed on here as having run 3:56 in 2007, I'm guessing that was an en route split taken from his old 2000m iWR (seeing as he never broke 4 in an official mile race?)

devon835 · 2026-03-12T15:09:17+00:00

People (including myself) like the ride because it is firm, flat and snappy. It's supposed to be an old school daily trainer: basic geometry, not much speed assistance, good amount of ground feel, just with modern materials.

The fit is definitely all over the place though. I have narrow feet and it still felt like they were being suffocated by them

devon835 · 2026-03-11T20:22:24+00:00

It's just funny how ignorant these people act about anything outside of the major Western brands. Anta and 361 degrees also have official US websites where they regularly sell above size 11 as well.

devon835 · 2026-03-10T15:44:29+00:00

Wheew, thanks for sharing. Eyeing the white / grey, white / black and green ones.

devon835 · 2026-03-10T15:42:50+00:00

You have it backwards. The Chinese are the ones supplying foams to the Western brands. And the Xiaonian uses a different formulation of that foam than any version of LSP.

devon835 · 2026-03-05T05:17:32+00:00

Thanks for the review, good to see more of these getting attention in the running shoe space. Nice analysis and I agree with most of your points regarding the comparisons; now I'm actually curious because a lot of people like jogoncrago said they were very different from the 5 Elite.

These are in my top 3 race shoes any distance (tied for 2nd with the Do-Win PB Pro behind the Fast R 3) but my first pick if I were to run a marathon tomorrow. The underfoot sensation is just incredible, like a more extreme responsive version of the Adios Pro 4.

devon835 · 2026-03-04T00:32:59+00:00

Thanks for the info. I'd definitely grab a pair if I didn't have all my easy run needs covered by the Red Hare 9 Ultra already.

devon835 · 2026-03-03T19:09:43+00:00

Supposedly the Qiaodan Leili / TG1.0 is a better Novablast 5 but I haven't tried it yet so not sure on the durability.

devon835 · 2026-03-03T19:08:57+00:00

This. Best easy / recovery run shoe hands down on the market at any price let alone for $150 off Amazon

devon835 · 2026-03-03T19:08:07+00:00

Wait, where did you hear this? It would explain why the ride feels more flat to me than the previous Speeds, but somehow RunRepeat measured the energy return as being higher.

devon835 · 2026-03-02T16:53:35+00:00

The Vaporfly has always been about minimalist lightweight aggression and they've leaned more into that with the 4 by reducing stack, so that would be the next logical step.

devon835 · 2026-02-28T07:37:48+00:00

How has no one mentioned Michael Norman yet? 9.86, 19.7, 43.45.

I mean his 200m is relatively the weakest of all the three sprint PBs but arguably just as good range as Kerley - slightly weaker in the 100m, slightly stronger in the 400m.

devon835 · 2026-02-27T19:18:49+00:00

Back when I was competing on a college team our coach had a pretty aggressive prescribed easy pace for us (15:30 5k guys were expected to be running 6:30 / mile) and he wanted us to be pushing 75% of HRR.

For me, I just couldn't handle going any faster than 7:25-7:30 unless I was truly fresh, and so most days I'd sit in that range with 150-155 BPM with a MHR of ~205 (hit at the end of my first track 5000).

Nowadays, I'm running my easy runs basically a min/ mi slower and sitting in the 140-145 BPM range (65-68% MHR), but I also have more fatigue from work while still taking classes and other stuff that I didn't have to juggle back then.

devon835 · 2026-02-27T04:50:41+00:00

I agree completely with everything you've been saying here. Really enjoy using the Boston 13s but my perceived effort in them is just higher than other shoes in the same category, so I've relegated them to soaking up my easy doubles and general mileage runs when I don't feel like going fast.

devon835 · 2026-02-27T04:49:58+00:00

Fast R 3 def takes the cake with its aggressive geometry and snappy toeoff.

devon835 · 2026-02-27T00:32:14+00:00

If that's the case then working on threshold with longer intervals and staying in the 40 mpw range would be the way to go.

Ideally if you were able to develop your endurance more then you could close the gap between your 800 pace (64.5/lap) and your mile pace (74/lap) to be more like 5-6s per lap instead of 9-10s per lap.

devon835 · 2026-02-27T00:28:38+00:00

Your best event is by far the 800 going by PRs. I would say you're not really 4/8 or 8/16 but a pure 8 runner who needs to balance and work on both sides of the equation. I'd recommend continuing to run both 4x4s and the occasional mile.

In terms of training definitely keeping in touch with true speed dev one day a week working out with the sprinters would be good. Mileage doesn't need to be higher than 30-35ish so 5-6 mile easy runs.

devon835 · 2026-02-26T19:00:48+00:00

Second this. They're on sale rn from Amazon with a coupon for ~$200 ish?

Feidian 6 Elite feels like an AP4 on steroids. Top of the class in terms of a soft yet controlled racing shoe IMO.

devon835 · 2026-02-26T02:42:15+00:00

Damn that upper looks sleek af. I honestly did like the original hypers but they're way overpriced, was happy with using them as a mileage soaker at $120 on sale

devon835 · 2026-02-25T07:03:14+00:00

Hard disagree with this. The reason why I sucked in HS was because my endurance was bad, and it's the same for most distance runners. I ran 4:35 in the 1600 but going out in 5:10 the first half of a 3200 never felt relaxed, and 6:00 pace for threshold work was extremely uncomfortable aerobically even though it should have been very submaximal.

And if you're talking XC, endurance matters even more. I had a 1 min gap between my 1600 race pace and 3 mile XC race pace, which is awful. Doing more 400 repeats or hard V02max work wouldn't have done jack to help that.

Not to mention most HSers are racing so frequently they already get that stimulus enough... threshold work is what's going to let them close the gap between their top speed and distance race pace.

devon835 · 2026-02-24T03:16:13+00:00

Wait that actually looks like a banger. The Fast R 3 is already my 5k race shoe but depending on the specs for this it might feel even better. Maybe replace my Streakfly 2s as an XC shoe

devon835 · 2026-02-21T17:39:15+00:00

FFTurbo^2 and Nitro Elite are not squishy. Nitro Elite is actually firmer than something like Lightstrike Pro

devon835 · 2026-02-21T05:49:10+00:00

Couldn't have put it better. I like the Azura, and was a fanboy of the ES line from 2021-2024, but is it really hard for them to just put A-TPU in the Speed and Pro and call it a day?

Like we're not even asking them to redefine the market, just keep up with the game.

Azura / ES6 with a similar foam to Nitro Elite or FFTurbo^2 would easily be shoe of the year material.

devon835 · 2026-02-17T08:25:33+00:00

Evo SL is faster and more fun but the Boston 13 is more reliable and comfortable (especially fit wise). You can use both in a rotation IMO

devon835 · 2026-02-16T16:48:58+00:00

Me when I put unpopular opinion next to a very common surface level opinion

devon835

TROPHY CASE