Crikey. As someone who’s done 50k plus a couple of times, this is completely insane. “Mentally tough” doesn’t cut it once you go past the marathon distance. Need a HUGE training base
It's not that hard once you can do 2 or 3 sub-7 minute miles. It's just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other after that and staying mentally tough.
Yiannis Kouros set these records in the 80s and 90s without any of the shoes, equipment, nutrition and overall running science that today's runners have available. Pure physical and mental power. No disrespect to Sorokin's achievements but will they stand unbeaten for 30-40 years like the ones of Kouros? I highly doubt it. Yiannis Kouros is the GOAT of ultrarunning hands down.
It's one of those conversations that can't really be proved now, only debated. I think it's like debating something like who would win in a MMA match between GSP and Khabib in their primes? We will never know (although my money is on GSP.)
100%. It was a long process making this video, during a couple of the longer sessions when I got a little tired I thought "If he can do all this stuff, then I can definitely put another hour in.”
I find his accomplishments to be FAR more impressive than Eluid Kipchoge's, especially since he's done this with no running base-building as a teen or 20-something. A true genetic marvel.
@@dannythedabbler 1) Because most ultra-runners have focused purely on distance and this guy is bringing 26.2-type speed to these events. 2) Kipchoge has been running his entire life. Sorokin has only been running for 8 years. 3) Kipchoge is a perfect distance running machine, both genetically and environmentally: 115 pounds, born and raised at high altitude and high temperatures, miniature skeleton, best coaches, etc. Sorokin has a large, heavy frame, was raised in a cold climate, had to lose significant weight to run well, etc. 4) Kipchoge can't sustain a 5:36 per-mile pace for 100 miles.
1:27 Half marathon after only one year of training, goes to show this man is a super human. I wonder what on earth his blood line did to pass him these genetics
I love hearing their training routines because my first thought is often “this guy is just a natural runner that got lucky” and then I hear that he trains like 24/7 running regular marathons on his off day and I realize there’s a lot more that goes into his success that people can at least dream of replicating. Not to mention his starting point as an unhealthy 30 year old!
Exactly those are some of the elements I liked about the story too, however anyone who gets to the top of the human race at something has to have some crazy genetics, in addition to all the hard work etc.
There's no denying this man has extreme talent and dedication. What are the chances that there are any PEDs involved? It would make sense given how much he has demolished the records that previously existed. Although that can be explained by the advantage of the shoes as well. Just posing the question as there doesn't seem to be any testing involved in these events or is there?
I don’t have knowledge on how prevalent PEDs are (or aren’t) in sports in general much less ultra running, so I can’t comment. What I can say though, is I went to the event where he broke the 100km WR and I witnessed a independent tester come into the event with a briefcase who took Alexander to a part of the facility to get drug tested, so it’s as good as any evidence we’re gonna get.
@@goldtiger9453 I think world record holders care about if he is on drugs or not. I mean, it's not like he's just a casual runner. We're talking about taking down the legend Yiannis Kouros' records that stood for a long time. That being said, I don't think he is on drugs.
Well in 1997 shoes play a big factor. In 2023 he’s using alpha flys with a boost cushioning. Big advantage. I still train with regular racing flats and you feel the pounding after 15-18 miles. With regular shoes he doesn’t stand a chance. But he did broke the 24hrs record with super shoes. Not with regular shoes
People have been running these ultra distances way before the cushioned shoe technology was developed, Look up "pedestrianism" if you want to see some examples.
@@TirnanHealy He didn't share too much details. We were just talking about weight management. People often make too many conclusions based on race day nutrition. Even if you run as much as he does you cannot eat everything. For him sweets are the main thing to avoid. In videos made in Kenya he bought some local pastry :) It shows he is not taking food too seriously. He's a simple guy.
After my contract here in Taiwan I will try also to attempt to run when I'm go back in my own country in Philippines a 320kms. starting from Camarines Norte til Sorsogon city... I hope in God's will I can do also 24hrs. ... Salamat...
I was about to stop watching when you said he was a successful sportsman at a young age, but I truly stopped watching when you said he ran his first half marathon in less than 90 minutes. These people are just genetically gifted and it takes years of training for the average guy just to match that. I've run dozens in 5 years and I'm still 10 minutes off his first attempt.
That’s fair enough, I would say that any human that has become no.1 out of the entire race in a sport has to be a genetic marvel by definition. I think it’s still cool to hear these stories even if it’s unobtainable to me personally. I made a video on Harvey Lewis who has had a much slower progression in his times over the course of decades.
I would love to watch AS run one of these races just to see what his 7:29 pace looks like. Even just for a minute but every vid of him is so heavily edited. As a runner myself, I just want to watch him, unedited.
In more recent interviews (in his native, lithuanian language) he mentioned that he doesnt take caffeine, it makes him more tired, also he mentioned experimenting with beer in some runs, from what i gather he is still looking for what works best for him. Fun fact, two nights before his UK performance he slept in a park on some matress he found (5°c at the time..) because there was some problems with hotel he booked. And before israel - he got food poisoning or something, he was still vomiting 24 before race. Crazy dude broke records none the less...
All those factors against him and he still broke the world records. Makes our excuses seem a lot smaller. Thank you for providing some updates, maybe he got the beer thing from Camille Herron? I think she mentioned having a beer late into some huge race effort before… interesting point about the caffeine, he’s probably sleeping more and recovering better after eliminating or reducing it
@@TirnanHealy i think he still drinks coffe just not during the race, as he tells it - he used to take caffeine pills even during the race, but in recent years he felt it was adding unneccesary stress. Running for hours and hours is stressfull enough, no need to amp it up. And thats where light alcohols come into play - they ease you up, give calories and are sort of a pain killer (i dont think he takes actual painkillers)
@@tongotongo3143 Born , raised, trained and competing from Lithuania, while boasting national colours. His name is Slavic, not nccessarily russian, and thats ok, we are neighbours with a few slavic nations and some mixing is just natural.
Yes, he is Lithuanian citizen, but culturally and linguistically he is Lithuanian Russian, and he isn’t mixed at all, his surname is neither Belorussian nor Ukrainian, and he isn’t Polish either. His surname is exactly Russian from western part of Siberia. In Lithuania native ethic Lithuanians mixing with Russians or Polish isn’t natural at all but rather extremely rare exception.
