Well they are triathletes so I ASSume when you mention focused on only the one event you mean for that day---surely a pro triathlete isn't going to stop swimming/biking to just run a marathon....

I know, but if a guy can run a 2:40 marathon in an Iron distance race, I would think he might be able to come in around 2:10 or so in an open marathon. In most marathons, that is easily good enough for the win and a high prize purse.

Then you would be sorely mistaken.

Several pros have run open marathons, do a search. That said there isn't a pro that can run anywhere near a 2:10, if they could, they would be running for a living.

Listen up everyone. Saltman has come to set everyone straight. He knows everything!

Agree with Saltman. The pro triathletes who are throwing down 2:40s MIGHT be able throw down a 2:20, but likely closer to 2:30. As said, they'd be pro runners if they were sub 2:20. The pro triathletes also likely have much more resistance to fatigue running off the bike and probably run remakably close to their open marathon times, as compared to an amateur, who will lose a lot more time due to postbike burned out legs.

I understand they have more resistance, but you really can't discount the amount of mental / physical energy they have burned in the previous 5 hours before the marathon portion.

Alistair Brownlee can run down in the 29min 10K range in ITU race after 1.5km open water swim and 40km bike. McMillan running calculator says that would put him down around 2:16. I am presuming he could do a little better without the swim/bike first, hence if focused on open marathon could get down close to the 2:10. Andreas Raelert and a number of similar running talent would be down there if they focused on a straight up marathon. I would still say, however, many would think that they could probably get there, but a lot fewer could - much must go right to achieve it. Likely many could go sub 2:20 if they focused, only a few sub 2:10 - but I am sure some could. When I say focused, I mean if they took the year or two of primarily run training (no way 2:10 off of just IM training).

Of course we are aware that pro triathletes run open marathons BUT I still maintain that's not their focus---as in a single event/purpose to their training....AND yes part of the reason they don't only run is because they are not 2:10 folks!!

2:10 is 23% faster than 2:40. That is a huge difference. Many pro IM triathletes can't run 2:10 pace for an open 10k (~30:40), let alone a marathon.

Brownless can run 29:10 because he's a good 10 runner. No telling if he would be a good marathon runner. But 2:16, which he may be able to do, and even thats a stretch and 2:10 are worlds away. Ones close to the womens WR, the other is contending for mens olympic teams for almost any country.

Styrrell

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Styrrell

Sorry, but I will have to respectfully disagree. First, I could only find Alistair's results in 29 mid-high range. There is a huge, huge gap between that and the 27's you'll have to run at an elite 10k level. You may think that it's a pretty small drop, but it's not. Let's take a look at a decent U.S. pro runner (note: not world-class), Scotty Bauhs. http://www.mammothtrackclub.com/speaker/526-Scott-Bauhs. His 10K PR is 27:48, or what I'd imagine Alistair could wish for on his best day after years of dedicated run training. Scotty, unfortunately, hasn't ran a marathon, but does have a half-marathon PR of 1:03:04. Flying right? That translates to a 2:13 open marathon, which puts him at somewhere around 10-15 in major marathons (e.g., London, Chicago). And then gap between 2:13 and 2:10 is crazy hard. This is all assuming he can successfully handle marathon training (see Ritzenhein, Dathan)

What others have said is true. There is far more money and prestige in open road racing. If they could do it, they would. I would guess that 2:15-ish is where the best of the best would end up. Stellar times, but decidedly "sub-world-class". I don't know the U.K. running scene, but those times would not put you in contention to be on the U.S. Olympic team, much less medal.

Justus run 2.18 in Frankfurt marathon last year (or 2 years ago)

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Bustos ran 2:16 Marathon before getting hit by a car

Staedler ran a 2:36 in 2007 his Hawaii time was 2:53 the year before

I think they may be able to manage 30-40 secs faster per km max they are already running close to their limit at IM the amazing thing is they can do it after a swim and bike

Tyler Stewart ran 2:45 today, she usually runs 3:15+/- in IM. Granted, she's in kona prep mode, but she's obviously sharp as she won Lake Stevens 2 weeks ago. If she could ever learn to swim...

Taking nothing away from Brownlee, who is a phenomenal talent, do you have any evidence of the accuracy of those courses? It's tough to quote times for a "10k" with a lot of meaning (and extrapolate what an athlete could do at another distance) unless that time comes from a track race or a certified road course. If a 10k course is off even .05 miles that's a 15 second difference at 5:00/mile pace.

I've followed this sport for 25+ years. The only triathlete I remember being competitive or running a truly world class time in a marathon was Benjamin Parades, a Mexican who was more a duathlete on the multisport side of things. He finished 2nd at the NYC marathon one year and ran in the 2:10-2:11 range.


That is a bet I'd take any day of the week (the sub 2:10). Given that only a handful of the US's top marathoners have run sub 2:10 in the past decade, and only 65 US men have run 2:19:00 or faster in this OT qualify cycle, to think that "many" triathletes could get into the 2:10-2:15 range with a year or two of run training is long odds. (I know I'm referring to US marathoners in a response that should be more global, but I don't have good stats for international marathoners readily available.)


All that said, I'd love to see some of the better runners in this sport spend a couple years doing focused run training and see what they could throw down in the classic marathons.

what kind of a running background do you have to make such a cavalier and ridiculous statement about 2:10 marathons? in the history of the marathon, a grand total of 15 americans have broken 2:10 in the marathon:

http://www.squidoo.com/...-ever#module10099731

meb and bill rogers barely broke 2:10 after spending entire careers training for marathons and you think that some random triathlete can just train a few months and run that fast???

calm down maghole. keep your pants on.

...and to ride on her own.

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 mcmillans calculator shows 'equivalent performances' and not the times any single runner is capable of. Every runner will have a relative strength due to genetics mostly and will not be able to hit equivalent performances across the spectrum.

No pro triathlete could get close to 2:10 without a few years of run focus, if at all. The difference between 2:20ish and 2:10 is night and day. 2:20 will get you a tshirt at most races. 2:10 could get you on the podium with an east African. Night and day.

wrong. 2:20 will get you the win at most races besides the majors (new york, boston, london, etc).

Ask Mark Allen how hard it was......

I am calling 2.25 at best for any of the top guys if they had a few months to focus. If they quit cycling and swimming for 2 years and just ran then maybe a sub 2.20.

You need to remember Triathlons are generally for Triathletes = Triathletes are not world class at any of the individual sports and none of the world class runners, cyclists or swimmers are world class at Triathlon. It is a different sport.

2:20-2:30 for top ironman athletes. The best ironman runners will be closer to 2:20, the uber-bikers closer to 2:30. Let's assume (which is risky), that the top 10 ironmen are world class endurance athletes (comparable to tour cyclists and real marathon runners) and let's take those out, that loose 15-30 minutes on them, because they just manage to show, that the field ist not that deep yet (we have quite a few pros with one glaring weakness, like ex riders that can't swim, runners, that can't ride ...), than we see, that the body type of top triathletes falls into two categories:

1. strong biker (Stadler, Al Sultan) ... fantastic athletes but far too muscular for stand alone running
2. strong runners that can still ride with the best ... still too much upper body mass, as these athletes MUST swim well in order to make the pack

The swimming is far more important for the second group, if you loose the pack for one minute, game over. The bikers might loose several minutes in the swim and still win (Stadler). Now outside of this top group, it would be easier to train a 2:10 marathoner into a top 5 ironman outside Kona. And there might be some ironman, that are former run specialists, whou could do something like a 2:10-2:15. But no one, who can swim with the main pack and ride with the bunch.

Ironman running is not limited by leg speed and VO2max (everyone can run with the best for a few kilometers), but by strength and fatigue management, marathon running a "pure" threshold event, limited by the cardiovascular system. Most people finish within 15-20 minutes of the standard marathon time, the more trained, the closer to 15 minutes. Except a certain breed of amateurs, who do 5 minutes slower than stand alone marathon, after drafting @150 Watts :-)

2:12 - 2:15 for top ITU athletes. ITU athletes are IMHO much more suited for stand alone running. Same intensity level, faster leg speed, similar event length, similar body type. But running a marathon would require a 1/2 year buildup for those guys to do safely. Theyr regular long run is just way too short. And maybe 1-2 years to loose upper body mass. 2 kgs of muscles in the upper body from swimming is a huge disadvantage for fast runners.

Have seen a bunch of top marathoners at the Vienna City Marathon, you can't imagine how slight they are compared to top triathletes. Al Sultan is a bear of course, but even the slighter triathletes look like monsters compare to those top runners.

What 'races' are you referring to? Even a very mid tier race like the RnR series is typically a 2:12-2:15 winning time. Maybe you're talking about the Des Moines marathon or something prestigious like that. Get a grip.