What would be an easier transition?

Question

A sprinter becoming a distance runner or vice versa.

Answer 1

Sprinter to distance runner.

Sprinting is very talent based.  If you're not a good sprinter now, it's tough to become one.  But anyone can become a good distance runner with proper training.

Look how often long distance world records are broken.  The 5km and the 10km were just broken again 3 years ago.  Michael Johnson's 200m/400m records are still standing from the 1990s.

Answer 2

I think it's probably easier for a sprinter to convert to a distance runner than the other way around.  The sprints require a lot of natural talent and natural speed.  If speed isn't something that comes naturally, all the work in the world can't make you a good sprinter.  A person without a lot of natural speed can definitely improve some with hard work, but they may never catch up to someone who doesn't work half as hard, but has a lot of natural speed and talent for the sprints.

On the other hand, I think it is "easier" to train someone's aerobic system and make them better at endurance sports like distance running.  With a lot of hard work and a lot of miles logged, even a pretty poor runner can become a fairly good long distance runner.  I've seen many people with no athletic talent work hard, log a lot of miles, and improve their cardio conditioning to the point that they could log good times in longer races.  

I was a high school sprinter and now I'm a distance runner.  I was an ok high school sprinter, but I'd consider myself a poor distance runner.  With a lot of work, I've built my cardiovascular capabilities to the point that I am now a pretty good distance runner.

I think the key is for most people there's a heck of a lot more room to improve from cardio conditioning than there is from pure speed, which is mostly a function of your natural talent.

That said, most people have natural talents and will probably be better at either shorter distances or longer distances.  In part this is due to your muscle fibers (fast twitch fiber people tend to make the best sprinters for example).

Answer 3

sprinter to a distance runner