Hey, I know that kid! Best of luck to him!

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A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is just putting on its shoes.
- Mark Twain

Won't even win his age-group. Guys with pure runner pedigrees have tried this stunt before. It's the cycling aspect that kills 'em. Swimming and running are all to the good, but when you throw in the hell that that damn Kona course can through at you on the bike, it becomes a whole 'nother ballgame.

Running well enough to win, off the bike, isn't something that someone can just come in and do at IMH. Especially when they have no cycling background or experience at running well off the bike.

Tony

I think Christian Bustos had a 2:11 or :19 marathon. A former runner turned duathlete turned back runner gave du's a try., I think his last name was Parides. After his short duathlon career he was second at NYC. I believe his marathon PR was 2:08 or so.

Just b/c someone is world class as a marathoner doesn't mean he will be good at another sport. Specificity of training. I know a 2:18 marathoner who after riding about 100miles per week for two years still can't break 70min for 40k.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
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Josh Cox must be a busy guy. He is going to be on the next edition of The Bachelorette.

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Adam
http://cdamaampbell.blogspot.com/

bachorlette? - what a terrible show - i don't know if this rumor is true (hope not) but would think that if he takes a year or two and trains like a protriathlete (2/3x daily) he could become a very good age-grouper very quickly - he could have some decent times on flat fast courses - i could see a 35/2:23/1.10 type of time on a .5 course like blackwater in 2006...particularly with the huge draft packs down there - but you never know with pure runners - many sink like a stone in the water and some just cannot make the bike go. i know a few 2.20 guys that are terrible cyclists.

Today's San Diego paper had an article profiling him. He's already working with Paul Huddle.

If he's willing to give a year over to huge bike mileage, he could be good. But most "pure" runners won't do it. It's hard to switch from a lifetime of 1-2 hour workouts to 2-6 hours at a time.

Colin Dignum, low 2:20 marathon. Ran a 2:38 (and still run course record) at IMC. Didn't even come close to the top 10 if I recall.

Triathlon is one sport, not three.

Erin Baker had a reasonable pedigree as a runner. Beat a collection of the world's best (including then #1 Anne Audain of NZL) at the Bix 7-mile (Davenport, IA) in the late 1980's and finished on the podium at the Pittsburg Marathon when it was a big deal. She won twice in Hawaii and had one of the great individual performances of all time at IM Canada, coming from 16 minutes down after the bike with a 2:49 marathon.

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Lew

Hey Lew, Erin was quite a good runner (2:08 800m at age 15) and swimmer as a kid, much like I suspect Cox was, but she had about 5 years of tri training before hitting those road races. She also never focused on those road races all that much and continued to tri train right through them. I think Cox is an interesting case, and working with some one like Huddle is the smartest thing he could do. I think a lot of runers under-estimate what it takes to become a really good cyclist. Paredes was also a duathlete for a quite a few years before concentrating on marathoning. He could never get his cycling speed to match the best duathletes. And he worked very hard at it. There have been a few guys like Lessing, Greg Welch, Whitfield, Van Lierde, Bustos....... who most likely could have run 2:13 if they's chosen to concentrate on running. Too bad Cox didn't start down this road about 4 years ago. Still, I'll be rooting for him and watching with interest. He's a gutsy guy.

The Ironman is an excersize in energy management... that is why you see more cyclist being able to do fairly well at crossing over but hardly ever hearing about runners doing the same. The cyclist's economy is not speant in the first two thirds of the race thus leaving him ready to do battle on the run even if that is not his primary background where as a runner will completely exhuast him/herself on the bike and have nothing left in the tank for the run.

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
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I barely remember when Frank Shorter and John Howard competed in the Desert Pricess duathlon. Shorter beat him, but neither was in competition for the overall win (probably Kenny Souza took it, it was back in that timeframe).

Suppose a 2:15 marathoner can go 2:25 in an IM. That makes up 20 minutes or so over the top triathletes. He's sure to loose that and much more between the bike, swim, and transitions. The top triathletes may not be as gifted of athletes as the individual sport pro's, but it takes years of training to get to their level in triathlon no matter what your background or talent level. Unless of couse you take EPO and ride a Kestrel.

Did you see Craig Motteram's effort at Noosa ? Don't underestimate the runners, will depend on his swim/bike background. Motteram swam something like 19.30 for 1500m and had quite a good bike split.

Skid,

Let that fine young woman know she still holds the women's record at the La Jolla Half Marathon. That's the toughest half marathon course anywhere around here.

Frank Shorter has always been one of my heroes. You have to remember he was about 15 years past his prime when he started doing duathlons. And that was because he had been injured for so many years he could barely hobble. And he was respectable for a guy who only rode a few days a week for 90 minutes or so per session.

Hey! I'll pass that on. That's a great course. She ran quite a few very tough,certified 1/2's in the 72-74 range. I don't think many people understand how fast the top women IM runners like Bowden and Fuhr are. They can motor over shorter distances too, but they hardly ever get a chance to let it rip when they are in form because they only ever really peak for IM's. So you really can't judge their running ability off of their PB's in running races.

i ran 2:16 (1979) before going to tri's in mid 80's and can tell you the time spent on getting the swim and bike leg in competitive shape left only minimum time to keep my run times at that level. Also the added body weight surely slowed down the running leg. Going into the run behind 5 minutes (ID) was a pain in the rear and mentally hard, but only Leach could hold on to win. Now, after a 15 years layoff from competing, my swim leg is my best. Whowouldofguess.

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