Random thought I've had on my mind and would like to hear y'all's opinion on what separates the different classes of runners. Of course this excludes elite and sub-elite from the conversation. I've been reading various forums and all seem to have different definitions.

Personally, I am 24 years old (25 in 2 weeks) and have been running mid and long distance since I was 17. Various 5ks (24:10 pr), 10ks (50:34 pr), 3 HMs (1:56 pr) and 4 fulls (4:27) pr. I feel that I have locked into my general running and race specific training within the past year and a half, but have a hard time figuring out where I fall on the spectrum. Strava says my average run statistics per week are 4 runs, 4h 34 m time, and 27 miles. This is just the average and gets jacked up during full and half training. I run twice with our local running store and about 3-4 times on my own weekly. I feel like I'm this weird mesh of intermediate and advanced but would like to hear what you classify skill/experience on.

i think it has to do more with experience/history than speed.

i know plenty of people i'd consider very advanced runners who aren't "fast." I also have a friend who, when I met him was a beginner runner who has just quit smoking and could crank out a marathon in the 2:50s, simply b/c he was genetically gifted.

Quote:

---

I feel like I'm this weird mesh of intermediate and advanced[.]

---

That's what popped into my mind.

I think if you have completed multiple marathons and running is a priority/nearly every day thing in your life, you can call yourself advanced and only the elite guys would laugh. But, since you made it a point to eliminate the elite and "sub-elite" from your qualification, then...ya...I think you're spot on.

My wife is advanced, but she isn't fast. She's run 5 marathons and can just got forever. But, she does it at a 9:45 pace. My pops was a 3 hour marathon guy back in his day and he regards her as "advanced."

Maybe something like this would frame it up:

Couch to 5k types - Beginners
Few races, just completed their first half - Intermediate
Runs races regularly. Has marathons under belt. Might even be competitive in local races - Advanced
Sub-elite - 3 hour and under marathon guys. Ultra racers (fuggin' crazy people)
Elite - Kenyans

PS - My man MCA has a beard like a billy goat.

RIP

Geriatric Punk said:

---

Maybe something like this would frame it up:

Couch to 5k types - Beginners
Few races, just completed their first half - Intermediate
Runs races regularly. Has marathons under belt. Might even be competitive in local races - Advanced
Sub-elite - 3 hour and under marathon guys. Ultra racers (fuggin' crazy people)
Elite - Kenyans

---

You don't need to be a distance runner to be an advanced runner.

There are milers and 5Kers that are light years ahead many endurance folk.

Great input from everyone. Thanks for sharing. Other thing I was considering is the recovery time one needs to move on from a race effort or hard speed work. And a second to that opinion: disciplines don't necessarily differentiate skill. We all know better middle distance runners than long and vice versa. Good insight!

Truth. I was just going with the assumption we were talking about distance, given the lengths of races mentioned by OP.

Mileage and intensity. Short distance runners often still run a lot of miles but vary the intensity greatly.

competitive milers put in more miles than your average marathon runner.

Putu and OO hit the nail on the head with the last two responses. It all depends on how you define expertise. Ive seen people with next to no athletic talent or foot speed run what most would consider really really fast distance times. It comes down to what you are training for. Most of the people that were referenced above that run a lot, but are never "fast", never train to be. Lots of high intensity running, speed drills, running form drills, and isometric strengh training can do wonders.

I've trained for ironman, but the only years I've ever gone in 80-100 mile a week range was when I was training for the 5K.

Just curious if you don't mind. What was your 5k time if you were putting in that much work?

My 2c

1. Beginner. Just go run. Each new run is exciting and distance or speed PRs come easily. You are excited to be able to do something you couldn't before.

2. Intermediate. All the easy gains have been gained. Running 2, 4, 6, or 13 miles on any given Tuesday or Saturday isn't really something to feel intimidated about, but rather has become part of what you do. Race times can drop for a long time at this level. The idea of running faster or farther than you believed as a beginner is still intimidating, but seems to be realistic.

3. Advanced. Runs aren't all the same, but rather have a stated goal before the run, and something beyond "long run". Track work, tempo, cruise intervals, fartlek, recovery, strides, progression, and a bunch of other silly names become commonplace. Not every week is the same, though they do build on each other.

Race goals, distances, and even times aren't especially relevant.

completely subjective. I suck at running, but I have a **** ton of experience. I've never broke 22:00 minutes in the 5K, two hours on the half, and my two marathon times were 5:15 and 4:45 respectively. none of these times are what you would call competitive or "advanced", but I would consider myself and advanced runner due to experience.

totally depends on how you define the parameters.

14:31 was my best if I remember correctly.

BigTimeAlum said:

---

14:31 was my best if I remember correctly.

---

And here I am dreaming about a sub-20 5k