Ronan Keating & London marathon

Bobby04

I read today that Ronan Keating insists that his longest training runs in preparation for the marathon in London were 6 milers! And yet he came in just under the 4 hours. How can that be??

tunney

He lied

hunnymonster

not necessarily, For my first marathon, I hadn't run much further (and that was on the treadmill!) but I finished a bit under 4 hours. I was in bits afterwards but it can be done.

Bobby04

tunney wrote: »

He lied

I suspect so too. But he's got some neck if that's the case. He's been qouted after the race as insisting that even his wife would vouch for the fact that he's only done 6 milers!

robbicosta

He ran the Great Ireland 10k last week and last time I checked that was more than 6 miles!

I had to laugh when I was at the start of London yesterday and they announced Ronan was aiming for sub 3:30. He ran the 10k in around 45mins while I ran it in just over 40 and I was aiming for close to 3:30!

hawkwing

Fair play to him for breaking 4 hours and for all the good work he has done setting up the Marie Keating thing etc. he did the great ireland in 4830 and is more of a role model than a lot of "celebs".

eldon

My mate Luke ran a 3.19 on his first marathon, that after running no more than 7 milers (and only a few of those) in preparation. Granted he was running with a mate of his who was quite experienced at marathons and who dictacted the pace. But to think its unbelievable to run sub 4 hour times with minimal pre-training is a bit silly

Jayme101

He is very fit though he's been getting into shape for the reunion tour and with 3 young kids I doubt he would have much time to run too many road miles in training. He said on a TV show last week that he has just worked out a lot in the gym.

Remember he was walking over 20 miles a day when he did his walks across Ireland so is accustomed to going through the pain barrier for most of his walks he was suffering from shin splints. I just think he is very determined, when he sets his mind on doing something, he would not want to fail especially in front of a live television audience;)

I don't know why everyone has to think the worst of him every time he does anything, basically he is a good role model and should be applauded for the amount he does for charity and not ridiculed. Its easy for rich stars to put their hands in their pockets and donate money to good causes - its not so easy to actually commit to something like this.

wb

With so much rubbish celebrity "culture" around us, I can't understand why everyone has a pop at Ronan Keating. I'm no fan, but he does his best, and is a good role model for his fans. Can't see why he's always attacked.

messed_up

"Fair play" to him, I say!

thirtyfoot

wb wrote: »

With so much rubbish celebrity "culture" around us, I can't understand why everyone has a pop at Ronan Keating. I'm no fan, but he does his best, and is a good role model for his fans. Can't see why he's always attacked.

Don't think anyone is attacking him but just wondering is it possible to run a sub 4 hour while only doing a max of 6 miles runs. Its a running/training discussion more than an attack on him or his celebrity. And as hunnymonster says of course it's possible to run sub 4 hour with limited long runs as she did it but its probably down to a natural running ability and the average marathon runner these days probably would struggle do it. I saw him at the Great Ireland run and he looked in good shape and he probably has a natural ability for the long stuff.

--amadeus--

What we all tend to forget on here is that running ability is a broad continuum. People at one end of that stretch may never be able to complete a marathon, no matter what they do in training. People at the other end can run marathons with little or no training.

If he really went no further than 10k in training and finished in sub 4 then hat's off, good achievement. In context of someone who's job involves (I would assume) a fair amount of physical conditioning and who has done a few long walks for charity (so building endurance) it makes more sense but that's not having a pop at him.

What bothers me is when "celebrities" say things like that on live TV and then joe soap thinks "how hard can it be" and with none of the background attempts to do the same thing.

And for teh average person to attempt a marathon off nothing more than 10k's wouldn't be smart.

hunnymonster

the only celeb who ever annoyed me at FLM was Jade Goody. It was the combination of not having done any work and a complete lack of understanding about the event.

thirtyfoot

hunnymonster wrote: »

the only celeb who ever annoyed me at FLM was Jade Goody. It was the combination of not having done any work and a complete lack of understanding about the event.

Did you see James Cracknell when he finished in under 3 hours, he celebrated nearly as much as when he won his Olympic rowing golds. Not sure what weight he is now but when he was rowing he was 98kg, he looked like a giant coming in among the rest of the runners, great stuff.

aoa321

"Fair play" to Ronan,

Why would he say he only did 6 milers if he was out doing 15 or 20 mile runs at the weekend? I don't see ANY reason why Ronan would not tell the truth about something like that - I don't see any reason not to believe him.

I didn't see Cracknell crossing the finishing line, but I did see him interviewed afterwards and without saying his actual time he said he was delighted with his finishing time - so I was wondering what time a guy like him would be delighted with - sub 3 hours is my answer - wow !!

cfitz

6 miles x 7 = 42 miles a week.

Surely a sub 4hr marathon wouldn't be out of the question?

hunnymonster

but the old saying holds true, running 6 miles repeatedly makes you good at running 6 miles. Equally true is that other old chestnut. The marathon is a race of two halves: the 20 mile warm-up and the 10km race at the end! While total weekly mileage is not completely irrelevant for a marathon runner, lots of short runs is of little advantage. Personally I think he is a fit guy and he did a great job. I imagine he was probably very sore on Monday though.

Ritchi

I've only ever three times ran more than 6 miles(unless I've run some longer without realising it, definitely not a lot more than 6 miles anyway). I've ran two marathons and a 10k run. One of my marathons was within a few seconds of being sub-4 hours. So it's definitely possible.