Impossible 1 mile time for a girl?

In article said:

Hi. My friend who is a stocky girl at 4'11" said she was able to run the mile once in high school
under 4 minutes! And she averaged 4-5 minutes.

Doubtful. Would be a world record were it actually true.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, A A wrote:

PS:

usatf.orgstatisticsOpen ↗

--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

A A said:

Hi. My friend who is a stocky girl at 4'11" said she was able to run the mile once in high school
under 4 minutes! And she averaged 4-5 minutes. They ran the mile every week as a requirement. Now
is it me, or is it impossible for a girl who is 4'11" to run the mile under or within the 4 minute
range? She never joined the track team and the coach didn't seem to make a big deal out of it. I
sure would have. She's in her mid twenties now, and I do notice she has a great deal of stamina. I
do know that most people in shape can run the first lap in 1 minute or less, but the following
laps, they slow down. Now, if someone has enough stamina to maintain their speed all 4 laps, then
they might be able to run it in 4 minutes or less. But I want to know if it's possible for someone
with short legs who is a little stocky to run the mile that fast? It's difficult to swallow.

I believe the current world record for women in the mile is 4:12 or around there. Seems your friend
is probably stretching the truth, however I doubt her heigth has much to do with the fact that she's
not a WR holder. The record holder I looked up was only 5'7" not super tall by any means. Stocky may
have something to due with, unless it's all muscle those extra pounds slow you down. I think teh
high school record is 4:38 so if your friend consistant ran 4-5 min miles she'd been REALLY good.

~Matt

Is her name Svetlana ?

World record...

Mile 4:12.56 Svetlana Masterkova (Russia) Zurich, Switzerland Aug. 14, 1996

A A said:

Hi. My friend who is a stocky girl at 4'11" said she was able to run the mile once in high school
under 4 minutes!

Weeeeeeell, Mary (lousy James Stewart impersonation) the IAAF site says this about ladies
mile running..

Athlete DOB Nat Place Date WORLD
4:12.56 Svetlana Masterkova 1/17/1968 RUS Zürich 14 08 1996

NORTH,CENTRAL AMERICA&CANADA.
4:13.71 Mary Slaney 8/4/1958 USA Zürich 21 08 1985

iaaf.orgindex.htmlOpen ↗

In article said:

On 26 Sep 2003 17:53:24 GMT, A A <[email hidden]> wrote:

I believe the current world record for women in the mile is 4:12 or around there. Seems your
friend is probably stretching the truth, however I doubt her heigth has much to do with the
fact that she's not a WR holder. The record holder I looked up was only 5'7" not super tall by
any means. Stocky may have something to due with, unless it's all muscle those extra pounds
slow you down.

Even if it's all muscle, a wide frame combined with a small height makes for poor running economy.
There is some variation in height among runners, but the short ones at the elite level tend to be
very light.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

A A said:

Hi. My friend who is a stocky girl at 4'11" said she was able to run the mile once in high school
under 4 minutes! And she averaged 4-5 minutes. They ran the mile every week as a requirement. Now
is it me, or is it impossible for a girl who is 4'11" to run the mile under or within the 4 minute
range? She never joined the track team and the coach didn't seem to make a big deal out of it. I
sure would have. She's in her mid twenties now, and I do notice she has a great deal of stamina. I
do know that most people in shape can run the first lap in 1 minute or less, but the following
laps, they slow down. Now, if someone has enough stamina to maintain their speed all 4 laps, then
they might be able to run it in 4 minutes or less. But I want to know if it's possible for someone
with short legs who is a little stocky to run the mile that fast? It's difficult to swallow.

She must of lost track of the number of laps she did. No wonder the coach didn't make a big deal
out of it.

Donovan Rebbechi said:

In article said:

On 26 Sep 2003 17:53:24 GMT, A A <[email hidden]> wrote:

I believe the current world record for women in the mile is 4:12 or around there. Seems your
friend is probably stretching the truth, however I doubt her heigth has much to do with the
fact that she's not a WR holder. The record holder I looked up was only 5'7" not super tall by
any means. Stocky may have something to due with, unless it's all muscle those extra pounds
slow you down.

Even if it's all muscle, a wide frame combined with a small height makes for poor running economy.
There is some variation in height among runners, but the short ones at the elite level tend to be
very light.

Allthough this is generally true particularly at the elite level, I think heigth is one of
the lower level indicators of speed. I believe weight is probably more of an indicator than
heigth. Weight and heigth are probably more of an indicator for the shorter distances than
it is for the longer ones. Aren't a significant portion of the marathoner elite fairly
short? I thought there was a line of discussion here a while back on the subject.

~Matt

Quoted message said:

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

In article said:

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 19:44:21 +0000 (UTC), Donovan Rebbechi <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Allthough this is generally true particularly at the elite level, I think heigth is one of
the lower level indicators of speed. I believe weight is probably more of an indicator than
heigth. Weight and heigth are probably more of an indicator for the shorter distances than
it is for the longer ones. Aren't a significant portion of the marathoner elite fairly
short? I thought there was a line of discussion here a while back on the subject.

I think this is correct. There is a lot of height variation among elite runners. For example, Jack
Bacheler was well over 6 foot, but there are also fairly short elite male runners , for example
Khalid Khannouchi is 5'5".

I think most runners would probably have low BMI, maybe about 20 or so, with some variation, but not
as much as there is in height. Usually, the short runner with a fairly wide frame (especially broad
hips) isn't going to be very fast, though in the lower levels of competition, (around the 6min/mile
mark), you do often see people who don't "look like" runners. You can't "see" cardiovascular fitness
until it overtakes you and leaves you in the dust ... .

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Are any of the parties in this conversation from outside the USA? Then the racing unit might have
been a kilometer (0.62 mile) with four minutes a respectable time.

Quoted message said:

Hi. My friend who is a stocky girl at 4'11" said she was able to run the mile once in high school
under 4 minutes!

I think the operative words here are "high school mile" - it was likely a couple of unmeasured laps
around the playfield in PE class, with half the kids hiding behind the backstop.

Paul

"Donovan Rebbechi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article said:

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 19:44:21 +0000 (UTC), Donovan Rebbechi <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Allthough this is generally true particularly at the elite level, I think heigth is one of the
lower level indicators of speed. I believe weight is probably more of an indicator than heigth.
Weight and heigth are probably more of an indicator for the shorter distances than it is for the
longer ones. Aren't a significant portion of the marathoner elite fairly short? I thought there
was a line of discussion here a while back on the subject.

I think this is correct. There is a lot of height variation among elite runners. For example, Jack
Bacheler was well over 6 foot, but there are also fairly short elite male runners , for example
Khalid Khannouchi is 5'5".

I think most runners would probably have low BMI, maybe about 20 or so, with some variation, but
not as much as there is in height. Usually, the

short

Quoted message said:

runner with a fairly wide frame (especially broad hips) isn't going to be

very

Quoted message said:

fast, though in the lower levels of competition, (around the 6min/mile

mark), you

Quoted message said:

do often see people who don't "look like" runners. You can't "see"

cardiovascular

Quoted message said:

fitness until it overtakes you and leaves you in the dust ... .

So if I'm 5'5", 155 pounds with a BMI of 26, with plenty of (heavy) muscle and little fat, chances
are I'm not going to be the next winner of the Boston Marathon?

A A <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Hi. My friend who is a stocky girl at 4'11" said she was able to run the mile once in high school
under 4 minutes! And she averaged 4-5 minutes. They ran the mile every week as a requirement. Now
is it me, or is it impossible for a girl who is 4'11" to run the mile under or within the 4 minute
range? She never joined the track team and the coach didn't seem to make a big deal out of it. I
sure would have. She's in her mid twenties now, and I do notice she has a great deal of stamina. I
do know that most people in shape can run the first lap in 1 minute or less, but the following
laps, they slow down. Now, if someone has enough stamina to maintain their speed all 4 laps, then
they might be able to run it in 4 minutes or less. But I want to know if it's possible for someone
with short legs who is a little stocky to run the mile that fast? It's difficult to swallow.

Thanks for all your replies. I asked her again and she said she might have been confused. But she
did run it within the 4 minute range. Now, it's unlikely she's lying since she was valedictorian of
her high school so she doesn't need to make herself look good. I've seen the plague in her room. The
track is a high school track they use for track and field. She weighs about 90 lbs now, probably
less in high school. She has very muscular, but short legs with a somewhat stocky body type and a
great deal of stamina. She can do 70 pushups right now without much effort. I'm trying to beat her
in pushups, but considering her attributes, weight, and short arms, it is probably impossible.
Although I'm still confused as to how she has such speed and strength for a little girl. If you saw
her walking down the street, she would look any other girl with a little baby fat.

[email hidden] (rick++) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Are any of the parties in this conversation from outside the USA? Then the racing unit might have
been a kilometer (0.62 mile) with four minutes a respectable time.

The poster clearly said mile. A mile is still a mile.

"A A" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for all your replies. I asked her again and she said she might

have

Quoted message said:

been confused. But she did run it within the 4 minute range. Now, it's unlikely she's lying since
she was valedictorian of her high school so

she

Quoted message said:

doesn't need to make herself look good. I've seen the plague in her

room.

Dude, when I see the plague in a girl's room, I get the hell out of there, you know what I mean?

(WasteNotWantNot) said:

[email hidden] (rick++) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Are any of the parties in this conversation from outside the USA? Then the racing unit might have
been a kilometer (0.62 mile) with four minutes a respectable time.

The poster clearly said mile. A mile is still a mile.

true nuff

but since the poster's friend has either been smoking some fine stuff or just getting confused or
downright lying, it seems OK to try find an explanations, no?

no know female has ever run a sub-4 mile, where one mile = 1760 yards = 4 x round a 440 yard track =
5280 feet = 8 furlongs = 1609 meters etc etc

not even downhill with a following wind

only a handful of american ladies, however tall, have done a sub-4 1500m

basically, rick++ is trying to find something other than immediate knee-jerk conclusion, ie the
poster's friend is a serious bullshitter

oh, btw, the other knee is jerking wildly to remind us that it may just have been a basic, bread and
butter troll

"TenKMan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"A A" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for all your replies. I asked her again and she said she might

have

Quoted message said:

been confused. But she did run it within the 4 minute range. Now, it's unlikely she's lying
since she was valedictorian of her high school so

she

Quoted message said:

doesn't need to make herself look good. I've seen the plague in her

room.

Dude, when I see the plague in a girl's room, I get the hell out of there, you know what I mean?

Maybe she cheated in class too. That's why she can't count laps.

A A <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi. My friend who is a stocky girl at 4'11" said she was able to run the mile once in high school
under 4 minutes!

I just love it when people blow things out like this. My wife used to work with a forty-something
woman who casually claimed she ran the Peachtree 10k in 36 minutes. (Of course, this is *nowhere*
near as funny as a woman claiming she ran a sub-4 mile in high school...the 4'11" and stocky makes
it even more amusing.) But this woman I mentioned was hardly more than a neigborhood jogger. And a
woman her age with times that good would've certainly been known in local running circles, and of
course she wasn't.

Quoted message said:

And she averaged 4-5 minutes. They ran the mile every week as a requirement. Now is it me, or is it
impossible for a girl who is 4'11" to run the mile under or within the 4 minute range?

No female on Earth (at any age) has ever done a documented 4-minute mile.

Quoted message said:

She never joined the track team and the coach didn't seem to make a big deal out of it.

Strange, I wonder why. One would think he'd have wanted her to go for Ryun's high school
mile record.

--
Regards, IM

"TenKMan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"A A" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for all your replies. I asked her again and she said she might

have

Quoted message said:

been confused. But she did run it within the 4 minute range. Now, it's unlikely she's lying
since she was valedictorian of her high school so

she

Quoted message said:

doesn't need to make herself look good. I've seen the plague in her

room.

Dude, when I see the plague in a girl's room, I get the hell out of there, you know what I mean?

LOL!