I run around 4 miles per morning, a few mornings per week.
If I could maintain a 15mph pace on those runs, my picture would be on a Wheaties box.
A 15mph pace is another way of saying a 4 minute mile. Which isn't quite as impressive a feat as it was 60 years ago, but it's still a noteworthy achievement over even a relatively short (1 mile) distance, and only one person (Daniel Komen) has ever managed to maintain such a pace for 2 miles (with a time of 7:58.61 - a world record that's stood since the mid-1990s). Nobody's even come close to maintaining such a pace over longer distances.
As a runner, the quip about being unable to maintain a 15mph speed was what caught my attention in this thread, not the OP's description of the current state of affairs at the Mall of Murica.
I was able to run a consistent 4:30 minute mile in college (if I only had to run one mile - believe me, for collegiate middle distance runners, this is not really impressive). Then, I would need a bit of rest to continue practice. Then, there is Dennis Kimetto, the current marathon record holder. He was able to maintain an average of 4:42 over the 26.2 mile course. That is freaking insane!!!!
When I was on active duty in the Marines I was never able to hit the 18 minute 3 mile time for the perfect score in the PFT but usually just missed it by about a minute or so. These days, I focus more on the much longer distances and am out there more just to relax than I am to set any records, but anytime I can get a half marathon under an hour 45, I'm happy and I'm proud that I can still get my 5k finished under 21 minutes if I really push myself.
That said, I work with a guy who was a collegiate track athlete at a pretty big school (Tennessee - although I have no idea if that's a program that's known for Track & Field) and we were talking about running. He was telling me he could routinely run a mile in about 4:30 or 4:40 and I was really impressed. I then asked him how fast he could run a 5k in and he said it would take him closer to about 20 minutes or so, whereas I figured he should be able to do it in about 15 minutes. Before that, I had never thought about how folks who run the mile, that's really what they train for. He was a decathlete so the mile (or the 1500 meters) was about his max and there was no way he could maintain that pace much longer than that.
Of course, the guy I work with is built like an Olympian and I imagine if he were to really train for something longer, like the half marathon or a 10-miler, I'm sure he'd destroy me... so I've never invited him to go running with me. :winner: