Can an American run a sub 2 hour marathon?

Bob Prichard of the Somax Performance Institute sent me this analysis of elite runners where he suggests that some of the top American runners could break the sub 2 hour marathon mark by improving their stride efficiency. He says that, "Bouncing up and down, overstriding, crossing the legs over toward the midline and lifting the toes all over-stress the legs, increase injury and fatigue, and slow the runner down." He suggests that, "The myth persists that African runners win because they are genetically superior, run to school as kids, and live and train at high altitude. But video analysis of their stride shows that they win because they run more efficiently." The video is very interesting with the measuring of angles and inches and has its humorous ways of demonstrating what would happen if cars did what the runners are doing.

Interestingly enough, just yesterday I posted a video on the "fuzz" that stiffens our muscles and sticks them together. This video calls the fuzz "microfibers" and its probably also what active release practitioners call "glue" or scar tissue. According to this video, the microfibers cannot be released by stretching or soft-tissue massage. The only remedy they give is the somax mibrofiber reduction system. which sounds interesting until you realize that you have to go to California and pay $350 an hour for 30-60 hours worth of work. I couldn't  afford that if they could even guarantee me that I could run a sub 2 hour marathon!

It is an interesting video, no matter what you think. The statement that the Somax people come up with is that "Our conclusion is that the top American marathoners are right now much more fit than their African competitors. Once they rid themselves of their mechanical problems, they can run under two hours with no problem."