Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Hard Work Beats Talent?

You know Evan Jager?

Yeah...that gangly long-haired steeplechase dynamo who you know...holds the American Record in the 3000 meter Steeplechase.   Well this is what his twitter profile looks like (not that I'm stalking):



"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

Hard to argue with that in his situation.  Although...I suppose it depends on the level of talent.  I feel pretty certain Shalane Flanagan could kick my butt in the mile even if she decided to stop running for 5 years and race me while doing the backwards crabwalk.

So maybe "Fairly talented/ hard work beats ridiculously talented when ridiculously talented doesn't work hard".  Doesn't have the same ring, does it?

Of course, there are some pretty crazy stories of what has happened to people who weren't at the top from day one:

 There's Ariana Hilborn who went from running her first marathon in 4:38 to getting an Olympic Trials "A" standard just a few years later.   Or Desi Davila who, while she was a high school standout, there was nothing in her 19:10 5000 meter college debut that indicated she would be an Olympian.   On a smaller scale, I get to watch many of my running friends run PR after PR and improve to run times that are truly great.

Amazing and inspiring stuff!   Obviously the product of crazy hard work and countless hours doing workouts.

But then I can think of my own anecdotes of the differences in talent in people:

Like during my high school track days where...honestly, it was just obvious who had more natural talent.  We all ran similar workouts.  As a high school mid-packer, there were people that would never ever beat me, and girls who I would never beat in a million years.  It wasn't that one person was working a lot harder than another....some people just seemed to benefit from the training or were just fast out of the gates from their first season.

source.  This is the cross country team from my high school 8 years after I graduated creepily taken off their website.  Because I don't have any pictures of my own team.  Go figure, no social media or digital cameras back in those days. 
People are different too in the amount that they see improvement.  I'm a decent runner out of the gate, but it's really hard for me to see major improvements.  Although who knows...maybe I'm just not working hard!  I certainly don't put in the miles that many others do.

This can be a sensitive topic.  You don't want to tell someone who has gotten really fast at running that they didn't work hard to get there, or assume that someone who trains hard but is near the back of the pack doesn't train hard at what they do.  

So here are my conclusions:
1) If there is room in your life to work harder, there is the capacity to improve, even if it's by a few seconds.
2) People are different in their natural talents, but also in their ability to reap benefits of hard work AND their capacity to train really hard without their bodies breaking down.
3) You can be fast and lazy, and slow and hard-working, but to be anywhere near the elite scene you must be both.
4) There is probably a great benefit in learning all the technical stuff like VO2 max and lactate threshold  etc etc to make training more effective.  Not that I've done this.
5)  Super Fast People:  Remember to count your blessings on the running front and not just hashtag how much you believe in yourself.  If you're near the front of the pack, it's likely a result of both hard work and talent.

So what do you think has the greatest part in being a successful runner?  Have you improved a lot through training over months / years?

17 comments:

  1. This is great! I feel like I work hard but I'm still struggling to break 2 hours in the half, while my husband barely trains and runs 1:40s. Frustrating! That said, I have come a LONG way since my first half at 2:31, and that's from working at it! :) Love the post.

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    1. Thanks.:)
      Also, men are just faster on average...damn them and their lower body fat and lack of child bearing hips!

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  2. I've gotten so much worse, honestly. There was a little while there where I was getting faster and faster -- and, sure, I was putting in a good amount of work -- but it seemed to happen somewhat naturally. Now it's all different. I feel like I work harder, do specific pace workouts, do more mileage, etc, and it's not reflecting in my times at any distance. It bothered me for like a year, but now I actually feel pretty ambivalent. I don't know if I'll ever get faster than I was a couple years ago, so now I just want to make sure it's something I enjoy doing. Meh.

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    1. You and me both! Honestly for me, I think the ambivalence is partially causing the problem.

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  3. First time commenting! Been reading for a while though :). This is a really good post. I think another key element of running is that there's also a little bit of luck involved—no matter if you're a beginner or an elite. Everyone has bad days and good days, sometimes with identical circumstances. So while of course I agree that natural talent and hard work weigh in heavily, there's always an unknown element come race day which can sometimes make or break us— despite how much we've prepared. It's kind of one of the best and worst parts about running, I suppose.

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    1. Hey birdie thank you for reading! Good point about the luck. Totally agree.

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  4. I think I see my sorority sister in your picture :P

    Hmmm I think hard work can make up for a lot but you have to have some natural ability. I think this is true in all aspects of life not just running. I am decently smart but it is definitely because of hard work and maybe a bit of luck that I graduated in the top 5% of my class from a top school. Or if I am actually that smart I feel very very very scared for the rest of the population. As for running I kind of feel the same way. I had never run before and decided to do a marathon. With very minimal training I ran under 4 hrs. Not great but depends on whose perspective you look at. When I started to train I have improved about a half hr in 2 years and am still improving. Still not great, but again its relative. I have seem people make massive jumps kind of randomly though so I wonder if sometimes things just click. I guess I can only hope. I do agree it is a touchy subject where you don't want to imply that people aren't working hard and other implications you might make with whatever offhand comment you might make...

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    1. Sometimes I also, am scared for the rest of the population. But then I remember that just because I standardize test relatively well doesn't mean I'm not completely mentally challenged in a lot of basic areas like...driving and directions...etc etc.

      I consider you one of the hard workers in the running blog world.

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  5. Great post! I agree with every word. I'm working hard on something I'm not naturally talented at: patience. Since I'm not terribly gifted at running either (or maybe I just don't believe in myself enough), this is a good thing to train for.

    Sometimes on my bad days with running I think I should go concentrate on something I *am* talented at. I wonder why that just isn't as appealing! :^)

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    1. Agree. Patience is something I need to work on the most...

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  6. I was just discussing this with another parent at a soccer game. I have 3 kids who all play the same sport (ironically on the same team) and one does nothing and is really good but could be amazing, one is good and tries hard and one works harder than the other two to get average results. I'd say to excel you have to have an excellent base, but natural talent and mediocre effort can get you far as well.

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    1. I love that you have your own sample size in your kids :).

      I think especially when you are a kid, it's easy to excel just by being naturally awesome.

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  7. STOP you are going to give away my not so secret crush on E. Jager. Blond boys! Freakin' kryptonite.

    That is.

    I think you hit on a lot of points, although I think "talent" encompasses a lot more than just "being fast" (or rather, I guess, being fast isn't just about being fast). There's pain tolerance, there's the ability to concentrate, the physical ability to recover, and general physiognomy. Some of these things, I suppose, you can work hard to change - you can diet to kingdom come or ice bathe and do drills and shit - but only some people are going to see certain gains. That said, I do think so-called "average" runners can all, almost without exception, work harder. I count myself among these. I look at my training, and there are dozens of things I could do that would ostensibly make me faster.

    I think you said all this, but I wanted to say it too.

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    1. Amen sister.

      We can't both have E. Jager so I challenge you to a fight where only one of us will walk away with this piece of steeplechasing sexiness.

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  9. love this post Margot. :)

    I do believe there are runners who were "born to run" & are naturally blessed with great biomechanics. They're beautiful to watch. Stride, form, etc. For the most of us & for me it's taken hard work, day in & day out. When I step out in the a.m. I always tell myself..."well, it's a good thing I love to do this." The day I stop enjoying the runs will be the day I pick a different hobby. I feel like my running has improved over the years. Maybe because next month I'll be 37. I know that I'm getting older & if I compared myself to when I started running in my 20's (that whole age grade thing) there's an improvement. Running has changed for me over the years. I've learned to appreciate my ability, not take it for granted & not compare myself to other runners. When the race starts it just me & the clock. We're all different. One thing we all have in common is determination. When I turn 40 I hope to still be able to run well & I'm sure running will take a different shape for me then. I hope by then my kids will have picked up the sport. I'd love to wait for them at *their* finish lines, volunteer & give back. I could go on & on. :) I don't think there's really a secret to being good, great or awesome. When you cross the finish line(s) & you ask yourself..."did I do my best?" and you can answer "YES." than that's all you can ask for! :) xo

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  10. Great post! You made a lot of interesting points, and I like what Sarah added above about talent being more than just speed. In my own life, I've definitely seen it both ways - especially (like you said) on high school cross country and track teams. There was one particular runner on my cross country team who was so talented - naturally fast without even working. But she wasted it...like, she didn't NEED to work hard, so why would she? It used to bug me so much because I'd work my butt off while she slacked and then she'd go and kill me in the next race. However - it did catch up to her eventually. I think having natural talent gives you a big leg up on the rest of the field. But just because you DON'T have as much natural talent, it doesn't mean that you don't have a chance. There's a lot to be said about hard work, dedication, and passion. To be a truly great runner, you need them all.

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