That's a point I didn't make.
I'm also a proponent of anaerobic training, I do it far more that I run. Being able to bang out a slack handful of miles at a decent pace is a basic human function IMHO.
I know it's not fashionable at the moment but I stand by my comment that endurance and ultra endurance athletes are the fitter (in the physiological sense) than any crossfit follower.
Please also note that I said "running", not "jogging"
I think you are not quite correct with your last statement about Crossfit/Multi-sport type trainees and endurance and ultra-endurance athletes or trainees.
In the end I think it all boils down to what your individual physiological needs and goals are - to not consider a professional MMA fighter as fit as, say, Scott Jurek is not quite correct, I think. They just use different pathways for their individual needs.
Generalised statements are exactly what makes the original article by Staley somewhat stale-ish - but that was his point, stir the pot, rub salt into a wound - or make people think logically about exercise.
Even the jogging proponent who created the jogging craze apaprently was part of later studies that showed that LSD only was detrimental to health, according to Dan John.
And Tabata's findings were actually quite revolutionary. But if you want to be an endurance athlete, and run ultramarathons, you have to log the miles into your legs. Only focusing on interval training may not work out in the end.
Check scienceofrunning.com for some additional info and data.
Anyways, I want to compete in a half marathon, and I need to run longer runs to accomodate/teach my legs the distance, interval training can make me faster, but I still need parts of the distance.
Weight training is complementary to the energy pathways and the creation of tension necessary for running with a strong core.
"You don't learn from experience. You learn from reflecting on the experience."
- Kristen Ulmer