I&#x27;m a beginning runner, so what you said piques my curiosity, because a question that&#x27;s been on my mind is whether a slow runner can ever get fast. I remember seeing Malcolm Gladwell (he happens also to be an amateur runner who can do a 4:54 mile) quoting someone saying &quot;I’ve never seen a boy who was slow become fast&quot;, then express his agreement sprinting is indeed an exception to the 10,000-hour rule. [1] (To be clear, he is talking about, sprinting, but I think he would agree the logic extends to running.) You mentioned your 5K went from 22:09 to 17:21 your first year running. Were you simply a good runner to begin with? My personal experience is that I&#x27;m also in my first year of running, and my 5K PR is 26:50, so I&#x27;m wondering whether I can ever get it down to 22:09.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.newyorker.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;sporting-scene&#x2F;complexity-and-the-ten-thousand-hour-rule" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.newyorker.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;sporting-scene&#x2F;complexity-and-...</a>