Thanks for that info Kevin.

I'd like to see some photos posted of Rudolf and co eating their hats, although I'm sure they'll take the easier option of dismissing you. ;)

Sydney marathon 2004 was won by a triathlete - Rina Hill just after coming back from the Athens Olympics - does that count as winning something on the road????

Hopefully no-one seriously believes that tri-athletes can't run. They are without doubt right up there with some of the best and if they concentrated on running might even be beating them. First time I ever heard of Greg Welch was in a 10 kms fun run when he blitzed the field.

What is a bit frustrating is that their courses are often inaccurate and so it is difficult to work out just how good they are at times. And if you think they are bad, try the iron man courses. I ran a 28 minute 10 kms on an Uncle Toby's course a few years ago on sand. A five minute PB!

Emma is a worthy gold medal recipient. Wonderful to watch her gutsy performance and sensible tactics.

Peter Robinson gave away the gold medal, by silly Zatopek tactics in the run. If he had held off until the others were getting tired, he could have sprinted to win. the guy with the freshest legs can win. at elite level, you can't slow down for a rest, to clear the lactic acid out of the muscles from a hard surge. he shot himself in the foot.

I agree with Rudolph 100%. the three disciplines will empty your legs of glycogen without cat-and-mouse games. more even running will win out.

the Kiwi girl who just managed to get third, was doing silly surges in the cycle race, then dropping back again. she was lucky to get a medal at all. she could have been first kiwi home.

I would like to see the anti-drafting rule bought back - although the times would be slower from no pelitan assistance. the race suits runners - you "lose your legs" if you try to get a lead in the cycle race on your own.

sorry I have to say this, but the sport that "99.9% of Australians" reckon is a nonsense sport has captured a smorgasboard of medals.

Jane Saville and Nathan Deakes led their teams home. Nathan was under 80 mins without having someone to walk with, and he knocked 5 mins off the Commonwealth Games record. 15 kms per hour stuff - fantastic.

Now watch the 50 km walk and see what happens there !!

But this was a fast course with almost no hill. With hill, you can clear some lactic acid on the downslopes.

Even the Kiwis mentioned to the news media a few days before the race, that they preferred a hilly course, and therefore did not expect to win. They said it suited Australian athletes.

i do recall the commentator during the mens triathlon saying that Hamish Carter had recently
competed in the New Zealand track and field championships in the 5000 metres to sharpen up for the triathlon.
i have tried to find the results from this meet
but have had no luck, maybe someone else can try to find the results.
regards chonky

I think it's pretty useless comparing the running ability of elite triathletes to elite dedicated runners. Of course the runners will be faster. Just as Stuart O'Grady will be ride faster and grant Hackett will swim faster.

What's important is that the triathletes need to be as good as they can in each discipline to be well rounded enough to win triathlons (obviously). Not bike races. Not swimming races. Not running races.

Well, that's in draft free triathlon races anyway. The draft legal olympic races like the ones at the CGs destroy the true ideal of Triathlon, which is to find the best athlete over a swim/bike/run in a time-trial format. Drafting turns a triathlon into something totally different, where the bike is treated as a recovery period between the swim and run. Did anyone notice the lightning fast bike/run transition the Kiwi Hamish Carter did? It was because he did the entire bike ride in his running shoes! That showed how much respect the bike has these days. It's sadly all about the run.

Regarding badly measured run distances, I didn't know that. Actually the biggest problem in Tris as far as I'm aware is the shocking differences in swim distances, but I always thought the bike/run were pretty okay, certainly in comparison to my pure running race times (about a minute slower over 5k, about 8mins slower over 21.1k, about 20mins slower over 42.2k). I think I've raced on as many sus running courses as triathlon courses.

Actually this makes me wonder, for those of you who feel triathletes aren't the athletes of runners, why don't we see more elite runners learning to swim a bit (forget the bike!) and clean up every draft legal triathlon around the world? I guess they can't be bothered winning such inferior and badly measured events...

But back on topic, Emma. My god while she was running she was the most amazing vision of speed, grace, and beauty I've ever watched and shed an immensly proud tear (or three) for.

Happy running everyone :)

Schtumpy,
because he won some championships before, he should know better and be more confident in his running and wait patiently till the last km.

And Kutz (or proper russian spelling Kuc),
that was in the days which were very diffrent,
with different level of competition and since Zatopek was not in it any more, Kuc was considered a winner regardless what he would do.

If he did surges and the rest followed, than they exhausted too. If there was somebody on Kuc level, and run consistent pace, that runner than would win over surging Kuc.
Zatopek was doing surgies, because he was quite slow in the finish and was trying somehow to compensate, and he was not the fastest one for 5 km, but manage to win with confusing pace changes
and the otheres were mentaly not strong enough to stick to the proper pace.
These days sometimes Ethiopians and Kenyans do these surges, but that is different story.

I heard the commentator say that Hamish Carter did a pb of 14.45 for 5,000m just before the CG started.

Reefy, well said..

You simply cannot compare runners to triathletes, totally different sport with different requirements. As for triathlon being a nonsense sport pffft...

I get ALOT of enjoyment out of rocking up to running races and beating 90% of the "runners" there!

Wasn't going to add to this thread seeing as it was simply turning into a nonsense argument over athletes .v. triathletes. If no-one could respect the great races run by Emma, Robbo & Sticksy then they weren't watching the same thing I was.

but Rudolf ... stick to your ultras for a while

Well, well here we go again a bunch a nobody athletes posting on this site bagging the crap out of some of the best athletes in the world and trying to discredit their awesome acheivements. :angry: :angry: :angry:
I am a triathlete and I only use running races as training efforts to go better in a triathlon and I still beat more runners at these events than beat me. :D :D
So why don't all you naa sayers who have no idea about the sport of triathlon try one and then see how "talented" you really are???? After all you should all carve it up seeing as the swim bike and run are all short.
Rudolf....ever heard of team tactics????? Robbo (on the run) and Thommo (on the bike) giving to themselves and everybody else set up the win perfectly for Brad. :) :rolleyes:
I know plenty of runners and triahletes and the respect is mutual in the flesh for each others talents. So people should not use this site as a forum to discredit people when you have no proof as to the course accurrecy and no idea of the teams tactics.
Derek the transitions website has a core group who post and just put S$%^&T on most things so their input is crap. Hence why several of us post on this site and not on that one. The rest of you shouldn't fall into this trap as our sports are hard enough with out us disrespecting each others acheivements.
BE POSITIVE OR BE QUIET.... ;)

Hamish Carter ran 14-47 at the NZ Champs in January.

I'm not getting into the runners v triathletes but I have a story about short courses. In Vic a couple of years ago I was really unfit (a bit like now) and did a duathlon for a bit of fun. Got absolutely smashed in the first 5km but still ran 16-40 with the first guy running 14-10. I then managed a 8-58 last 3km off the bike. Upon questioning the course length I was assured it was accurate, even though I know I was in no shape to break 10mins for 3km.

Some of the triatlets are a bit touchy and some are just plain ignorant.
Reefy is the one realistic here.
He clearly admits, that the swimm legs are significantly shorter or at least not the same.
With the run legs, Reefy clearly states, that when the course is realy the correct distance, his run times are that much slower, comparing to his run only times.
So take this in reverse, if triathlet runs "10k"
on the traithlon, and You take that much minutes from it to compare it to his pure running ability, You are talking world records performances. From the time splits from some of the triathlons, it looks like these guys could beat the crap out of Buster any day. I guess, thats why Kenyans do not have the guts to do tri.

Just be realistic, nobody said, the triathlonist are not good or exellent athlets, we are just saying, they are not on the running world record level. Nothing more, nothing less.
And the question is, why You are not pushing for the real distances.

The fact, that as triathlonists Yoyu are beating 90% of funrunners is great and shows, that funnrunners are not fit, and they would benefit
from crosstraining (swim, bike) enormously.

That is not an argument to the fact, that running leg of tri is shorter that it claims to be. Triathlets are not running under 28 mins on the track, or realy certified races.


And for the race tactics - You have Your view, I have mine, thats fine. But poorely executed individual tactic to be justify as an exellent team tactic ?
Who are You kidding, everybody on his own, for the gold and sponsorships.

That pissed me off so much when I heard Robbo claiming the gold for the team. He almost cost the winner the gold by dragging Docherty back towards Kahlefeldt.

Watch cycling for real team tactics- Robbo was after the win. I don't blame him for that, but he shouldn't claim to have sacrificed himself for Kahlefeldt.

A very disappointing thread - when the main topic was to congatulate a fine athlete on a gold medal performance.

It is my understanding (I have been wrong in the past and will continue to be so on accasion) that the stipulated 10km for the triathlon is the total run distance. Thus when 200m has to be covered from swim exit to transition then the run leg is reduced to 9.8km.

As for the drafting on the bike leg - I'm fully opposed to it. I agree that it has made it a sport for swimmers and runners only, people with a strong bike leg are unable to take advantage of it. Thank goodness drafting is not allowed in the majority of tri races.

As for the runner v triathlete, that comparison is as stupid and pointless as a comparison between AFL players, league players, soccer players and union players. The point should be that these are all competitive sports - anyone who can reach the top is clearly an outstanding athlete.

Good additions Plu & Chris. Except that I wouldn't mind a last minute change to allow drafting in Tris before April 2nd! They can change back again (for all tris) on April 3rd ;)

As to the previous postings, I have no understanding, or experience in ultra distance, or short distance track running - so you'll be hard pressed to find a comment from me there ...

Don't worry minersrun, there will be pace lines anyway! ;)