i belong to group 4...i am a happy runner, and my performance gets worse no matter what distance i run, but my happiness increases higher than i ever thought possible.....oh and yes i never train i just run

Diesel donkey here! I have no ambition to be competitive. I just want to keep chugging along until I reach that great finishing line in the sky and not be spectator for the end of my race. To me it is about staying active both mentally and physically and diesel engines go forever!

I always remember Kipchoge saying ‘you can’t run a fast marathon if you can’t run a fast 5k’.

I really appreciate how they indirectly mention muscle fibres and depending on what kind of fibers you have - what kind of runner you'll be. I use to think I was a predominantly slow twitch runner, but as I run more threshold, hill-repeats and do gym workouts - the faster I get (5k @ 20:00, so faster but not freakishly fast).

Diesel donkey here - nice to see that this follows the Greg McMillan Speedster/Endurance Monster approach as well. It's so liberating to not have to chase speed for me and to accept that different people have different styles.

The opposite has been true for me. Because I’m a natural diesel, the body really responded to speed work, which I do not like. I could go forever but not at fast speeds so it has built an endurance of speed. I read the book The Endurance of Speed, which convinced me of the opposite of this. Since I already have the base, that will be there on race day no matter what. But holding speed , I need to train to do that

Thanks for covering this. So far in all my years of reading about running training, only Greg McMillan from McMillan Running has addressed these types of runners and has training plans for each type. That might be why his plans have worked so well for me. I'm a combo runner.

I underperform my projected 5k, and that underperformance keeps getting worse as the distance gets longer. My marathon time is 2 hours slower than projected. So I'm slow and i can't uphold that slow pace for long distance. Lol.

Combo meal for me. Hate both equally but do it anyway. 😊

This is interesting because I guess my thought process was backwards. I’m a speed runner, so I was thinking I needed more volume for endurance.

Thanks for covering that topic! I've found only few sources on that subject

Def a combo but my focus is consistency and running with proper training! This is another amazing video coach Parry! Can I suggest you add cross training into our schedules ?

I think I'm a speed freak that is just really slow😂

I am short and heavy amd drag myself through hell ..comoleted my first half marathon.

Ooooo I like this content. I'm deffo a combo runner

Interesting. I am running for 40 years, and my race performances suggest that I am a combo/speed runner. However, I always responded better to slower, volume based training with hill reps etc. Do you think that there are also different "training type" runners, regardless of race performance across various distances?

I’m a combo runner. I can run decent 5K to Marathon times

Thanks for the interesting and insightful video. Clearly, by necessity it needs to over simplify the issue, but still a useful first step. Back in the mid-1980s, when I was a much younger person, I had the opportunity to have a muscle fibre biopsy as part an early research project. Three things stand out in my mind about that experience. First, one of the witnesses to my experience was the great Australian 400m runner, Raelene Boyle; second was how much it hurt, despite the pre-procedure assurances of the doctor; and third that I have a 50/50 combination of slow and fast twitch muscles. Later analysis suggested that most of my fast twitch muscles seemed to fit into a third type, those that could be trained to perform as either fast or slow twitch. Given this was conducted almost 40 years, I'm sure our knowledge has advanced significantly since then, and there may well be a far better interpretation of what what results mean. However, based on that almost 40 yo muscle biopsy I can claim to have proof that I am a true combo or hybrid runner. Patrick O'Leary

Strangely, by coincidence I've been calling myself a diesel bulldozer for a while (30kg overweight) and I'm glad to hear I was almost right. Endurance Monster sounds much more fun LOL. Frequent run/walk outings are making improvements.

Very well explained.

Good video, interesting I’m more of a combo runner, cool 🥳👣🏃🏽‍♂️🍀🌴👊🏼👍🏼😀

I'm definitely a combo runner.

Wondering whether age does not also play a role here. Do older runners not tend towards longer distances? Might be this is not only a question of evolving cardiovascular and muscular characteristics, but also of vulnerability to injuries? I used to be a sprinter/jumper when I was young (maybe I would have performed better in the 400-800m range, but never even tried). Trashed my Achilles, have spondylitis, sciatica, arthritis in the knees ...I could not sprint anymore for decades and so turned to distance running. At 66, I better forget about plyometrics ;-) and do intensity on a bike. Performance level is about equivalent in 5k / 10k / HM (doctors strongly advise against longer distances, when not against running altogether).

100% Diesel Engine here. Chug chug chug. Really enjoyed this video.

what is the line between fast walker and diesel engine, cuz it seems very blurry at best

Curious Question: Does minimum and maximum HR play any role here? For example people with low min and max HR might tend to be more diesel types and people with high min and max HR might be spead freaks. 🤔

I enjoy sprints and even intervals. I just can’t keep up what is for me a longer distance. I am an older runner new to running so maybe I just missed out on building the diesel engine. Speed work seems to be much more effective in getting me fitter than slow run/walks. I tried the zone two but my fitness declined. Perhaps after 60 the rules change?

5K is long distance! 😂 im best at 800/1500m

I am diesel engine type for sure