I've never heard GJ ever mentioning that she liked riding biles. I don't think her doing long course is happening.

I never said her height was an advantage. I was addressing your incorrect conclusion that it is a DISadvantage. When the world record holder had a similar body type and countless other women with similar bodies have excelled at the marathon, it's clear that being tall and thin is not the limiter you appear to think it is based on this:

"She is also taller than the typical MALE world class marathoner. That doesn't mean that tall runners cannot be world class, but there is no doubt that it is not the optimal body type. 126-130 lbs is exceptionally thin at her height of 5' 10". From T&F News in 2005: the top 10 women marathoners average just under 5' 4" and 104.2 lbs."

I never said she doesn't look malnourished. I also never said that I think she will medal. Do you normally ask randomly irrelevant questions when trying to defend your ridiculous statements?

What about Laura Philip? I'm really looking forward to the battle between Lucy, Laura and Daniella this year. I think Lucy took too long of a break but I guess a marriage is a once in a lifetime kinda thing

You are either being purposefully obtuse or simply haven't read this thread to see that my comment on body type all started from another poster talking about her looking malnourished. Note also, that Gwen at 126 is 22 pounds heavier than the average of the top 10 women marathoners. They are all thin, but she looks even more emaciated at that height. And the crux of the thread is the impact of the surgery on her olympic dreams. So I was trying to lead the blind back to the original discussion.

As to optimal body types, I clearly stated in my first post that it doesn't mean you can't succeed if you are not in the ideal range; but there are most definitely optimal bodies for many sports, including distance running, and these body types are optimal for a reason. And it very much does imply that not being in the optimal range is a disadvantage - like a sub 6 ft pro basketball player. If you have time and are willing to learn, this 15 minute TED talk on athletic improvement has a very good section on body types (starting around 7 mins in). Or perhaps it's all just a crackpot conspiracy. If you want to argue with the obvious, go ahead without me.

https://www.ted.com/...language=en#t-398404

You write in a condescending way. That she is a mother is common knowledge, that's why she went back to running.

Once the grass no longer looks greener on the other side of the fence... She might rethink and do differently what she was doing. Could probably race in a block of races to compartmentalize the impact to her.

For the US marketplace and sponsors she doesn't need to be the ITU WC. It's the Olympics that are the pay off. If she could be competitive in the Olympics every four years, she could have a longer career if she went back to triathlon. IMO

You're lucky that the women aren't on you for presuming a mother can't train and be competitive. They do.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

It's too bad I can't believe in miracles...

Do you know her background and triathlon pathway?

If you knew and understood it, I think you would realize she likely realizes what she needs in order to be competitive and win at a world class level.

Her journey she realized it wasn’t good enough to just swim-bike-run train she needed to go “all in” to take that next step. So I think your theory just wouldn’t work for her because she had real world experience of your suggestion not working for her. It wasn’t until she went into the squad environment that she became unstoppable. Before that it was good results but not consistent world class front of group results.

Would she love to live in Portland (or wherever it is she lives) and tri train. I’d almost guarantee she would, but she knows that would likely limit her ability to get the most out of herself. Eta: I have have a theory that she actually likely didn’t really enjoy triathlon she was just stupid good at it and was still fresh enough that the squad based approach would help her take her over the top. But I just never thought she “loved” this more she just dealt with it cus this is what you had to do in order to win. It’s why she has zero interest in the non-draft stuff, etc. it was kinda crazy that before the gold medal tours it was as if she had left tri.

She’s not really a Nicola spirig type that can to train off on her own w a coach and do beast mode.

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While I hope she heals well and does whatever makes her happy, I hope she doesn't return to tri in any capacity. I'll totally get flamed for saying this, and I deserve it, but I think she's so boring. She's a tremendous triathlete, but I just find her to be the least interesting and have flattest personality of any of the athletes ever interviewed. I was so relieved when she left ITU. I know, I'm a dick. I can't help it.

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It is interesting to consider the (im)possibility that the best triathletes would ever make it as world class runners.

However a number of them have come from Olympic level swimming backgrounds, and may be able to return if they tried.
And LA has shown that elite triathletes can become (or revert back to being) world class cyclists.

But no triathlete has been able (or likely would ever be able) to become a world class runner.
Tell me if I am wrong?

I that realm the only interesting athletes are Starky and Wurfy...

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

But no triathlete has been able (or likely would ever be able) to become a world class runner.
Tell me if I am wrong? //

You would have to define more what you are asking, but yes, Gwen is world class as a runner. Go look up how many women have run 15;15 5k on the track, it is world class. But to your question, wasn't Gwen a runner before, so isn't she just coming back to her roots? OF course no one has come to triathlon from running or cycling and become a world class swimmer, so we can rule that one out. Many have come from swimming or running backgrounds and become world class cyclists. But to your original question, has a swimmer or cyclist become a world class runner, not having been one originally?


SO there is the rub, what is world class to you. To me, it would being able to run a 28 something 10k, or sub 14 5k. That is my definition or world class for runners, others might have a different view, that's fine, it is a moving number. For women I would say 31+ for 10k and sub 15;30 for 5k. Any of those times would keep you out of the last few places of most big non championship races. And in Gwen's case, it actually won some pretty good races..


So several of the ITU guys would have achieved world class running status, ones that were not primarily runners before doing tris. There are of course many others in the 28's, but those are guys that came from running backgrounds, so they dont count. But it has gotten fuzzy on where you are really from, when kids start doing triathlons at 5 years old, and triple train for all the sports their entire lives. I guess we just call them triathletes..

Anyone else had issues with Haglund's?

I was battling flare-ups with this for several years. Possibly heading for an operation.

Then I took up cycling 5-6k miles/yr and the problem vanished completely. I pedal heel flat and I guess that helps as well. I presume it helps stretch the tendon.

Totally agree. I was a big fan for a long time, but after her YouTube Channel came out I realized how boring and uninteresting I found her.

Yes, after battling this for several years, I had surgery in January. I did everything I could to avoid the surgery (ESWT, laser, long layoff from running) but ultimately my heel bone was shaped in such a way that it kept rubbing on my tendon and causing inflammation. Surgery went really well. Recovery is long but on track and going really well. I wish I had done it sooner as I now know that in my case it was not going to resolve unless I gave up running forever.

Totally agree. Would add Anne Haug to that list as well. Unfortunately Laura Phillip got injured last week, hopefully she has a full and speedy recovery to be at her best for Kona.

Google Paula and bio passport OFF score. Keep dreaming!

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Thats the same thing someone told me when I said she would go after the marathon after Rio.

Good thing I didn't say she would be racing in Tokyo for the marathon....

The main reason being incentive, why would you? the only triathletes that would be capable of this are actually world class triathletes and have a much more exciting lifestyle than the boring, run only, world class athletes. There is no reason for them to change over sport while they are achieving great things in triathlon and once they are no longer achieving they would be too old to transfer over.

You people are delusional... she’s not doing IRONMAN, she’s not going back to ITU, she’s not going to start a lifestyle brand and coach age groupers. She said she’s going to run, and she did, injury notwithstanding

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“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

i think i call nonsense on this - the number of triathletes running bonafide 28-minute 10000s must be vanishingly small.

i think reasonable people agree that ali b is about the best men's 10k runner in the modern era. he ran a 28:32 tapered, shaved, paced, in perfect conditions, on a mondo track, with excellent competition. afterwards he said he thought he might be able to go 20 seconds faster.

if that's where ali is under absolutely best-case conditions, he doesn't have much company in the remaining 28 seconds. . .

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Didn't Alex Yee run a 27:XX high?

What kind of serious professional triathlete is "tapered" for a late April track race? None. He had just won the WTS race in San Diego and flew up to Stanford to give the 10K a shot. I can assure you that the reigning Olympic gold medalist was NOT tapered in April 2013 for either SD or the 10K.

Regarding the other poster's question, Carol Montgomery was a world class runner and triathlete AT THE SAME TIME.

Yeah, as much as we'd all like to see it, I doubt she would come back to Triathlon. Both ITU and Ironman are tough gigs, esp if you're married with a kid. Most couples want at least two kids that are close in age too! I expect she'll settle down and get a "real" job like the rest of us, as well as establish some kind of income from her past triathlon career through appearances, etc. She was such a joy to watch racing ITU and of course in Rio. You knew at the start of the run leg everyone else in the field was doomed. Nobody could touch her!

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

I googled: Paula Radcliffe bio passport OFF Score and got this - https://sportsscientists.com/...es-and-transparency/

Read it top-to-bottom very carefully, and it basically concludes that YES the minor discrepancies in the off-scores in question could absolutely be due to dehydration, altitude training and/or sickness. Or in the words of the author: So, to wrap up – is Radcliffe lying? I don’t know. Her explanations are all plausible, but she hasn’t helped the situation or the credibility of her own explanations by playing this the way she has.


The fact that she's not turning over additional test data the has proves nothing. It might raise raise suspicion, but there is definitely not even close to a smoking gun here. I worked for a DNA analysis firm and saw raw data on a weekly basis and it's amazing how the same tests conducted on the same sample would yield different results dependent on a different operator, different day, etc. These minor discrepancies in Hemoglobin blood counts, and they are truly minor, prove absolutely nothing.

i think i call nonsense on this - the number of triathletes running bonafide 28-minute 10000s must be vanishingly small. //


I never said it was a big number, probably a dozen or so at best, so a small # as you say.