Danica Patrick - Guess her finish time at the Boston Marathon
- Thread starter RunTommy!
- Start date
Long story here. Back about a hundred years ago a guy started working out with us - his good friend James Menon was second at USATF outdoor nationals in the 10k and was working out with us at the time which is how we got introduced. The new guy could hang in all the hard workouts and on Sunday would run 10 miles in under 60 minutes. I asked him if he wanted to race XC for us in the fall, he responded "I can't, I've got to work". I asked what he did and he said he raced cars. His name is Townsend Bell who finished 4th at the 2009 Indy 500, 1 place behind Danica.
I bring this up because top race car drivers are incredible athletes with very high aerobic capacities. I'd be surprised if she didn't break 3:30 - I'll go on a limb and guess low 3:00 range.
Joe
I bring this up because top race car drivers are incredible athletes with very high aerobic capacities. I'd be surprised if she didn't break 3:30 - I'll go on a limb and guess low 3:00 range.
Joe
@RunTommy! I shared your question with our office and it inspired some really fun debate. We had a lot of guesses in the 3:30 range, but long story short, the consensus is that Danica will break the 4-hour mark. Like Joe's example describes, race car drivers are fantastic athletes with the ability and know-how to achieve physically demanding goals. I, personally, do not think that Danica will break the 4:00 mark at Boston (my guess is 4:15), mostly because it is her first marathon and with considerations being given to the fact that she is 4-years removed from professional sport and is now 39 years old. That said, I would not be surprised in the slightest if she goes sub-3:30. Just depends on how much time she has been able to devote to her training and race prep. Anyways, thank you for the engaging question and here's to an awesome Boston Marathon!
Well, she had a 20 miler that was exactly at 9:00 avg pace a few weeks ago. Mile 19 was 8:37. Mile 20 was 8:09 pace! She's got heart, but her weekly mileage is rather pathetic for someone training for a marathon. Not exactly following a plan. That's a recipe for disaster. Entire weeks with only 5 or 6 miles for the week. Might be 3:59, but also might be DNF in the Newton Hills.