If trained, can the average young male run a 26 second 200?

Yes. I've always been a long-distance guy, and could break 27 in high school during workouts.

Wrong! When I was a fit 40 yr old with no specific training in the 200 at the end of a 6 mile work out a guy in his 30's challenged me to a 200 I smoked him in 27 flat. So 26 would have been no problem if I hadn't done a hard 6 miler first.

I ran 26.0 and I am probably slower than average.

You ask two questions: Can the average young male break 27? and ... Can an average guy fresh out of high school who was trained optimally for the sprints, break 27?

Those are two VERY different people.

Maybe the average young guy but not your average 30 plus year old. When I was in my early 30s I would do sets of 200s between 30 and 32 seconds. I would run about 20 of these with the last few all out and could never break 28. Granted I was never a fast guy and I was always fighting severe lactic acid towards the end. I do think a lot of young non overweight kids could be conditioned to run 1 all out 26. I certainly believe I could have. Of course, it seems like there sure are a lot of fat high school kids nowadays.

fleetfoot wrote:

Wrong! When I was a fit 40 yr old with no specific training in the 200 at the end of a 6 mile work out a guy in his 30's challenged me to a 200 I smoked him in 27 flat. So 26 would have been no problem if I hadn't done a hard 6 miler first.

You, sir, are the exception, not the rule.

Besides, the OP said "no specific running training", not "no specific training in the 200".

If they're not fat and ugly, of course.

No. Sub-26 is pretty fast. In our (small, private school) league, 24.5 is the qualifying time to make the state meet. In any given weekday track meet, there are just a few kids under 26. There are a good many in the 26.x and up range, and pretty much any high school kid who calls himself a sprinter goes 27.x or better. Of course, at a bigger school with different demographics, those kids don't even make the team.

Most 40 yo guys cannot run 10mph on the treadmill for more than 15 seconds.

99% can't

I think with training many more kids out of high school could run sub 5:00 in a mile than break 26 in a 200m.

Can't teach speed.

soy milk money wrote:

This question came from a topic discussed earlier, where people were wondering whether a fit 40 year old guy could run a 27 second 200 without specific running training. The consensus was no:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3175953

But what happens if we're talking about an average guy fresh out of high school who was trained optimally for the sprints? Would he be able to break 27? I'm going to say yes, since many elite marathoners can break 27. If someone with very few fast-twitch muscles can do it without spending much time on sprint training, then the Average Joe with 50% fast-twitch muscles should be able to do it after a lot of speedwork.

Anyone else want to share their thoughts?

I would think the average Joe could do it. Due to an injury, I didn't run for 4 years. Didn't exercise for the first 2 years of those. Then all I did was lift weights and ride a mountain bike for the next 2 years. I was literally shamed into jumping into a race against a fellow employee for a spot on the "Corporate Cup" team meets that used to be run. (I was pushed into it because some of my fellow employees knew I had raced in college) At age 31 with a few stretches and warm up strides, I managed to run 26.3. And felt as if my legs were going to go. But I did beat the other guy who goaded me into it. I should point out I had a PR of 48.6 in the 400 in college. However, the guy ran 27.4 chasing me and didn't have any real training but running the bleachers at the local HS track. And he was 29. With a few weeks training we had him down to 25 which was respectable considering our competition. I moved up to the 400 for the relays and it got me back into running. I side with the guys who don't think a 40 yr old guy could hit 27 without specific running training. Won't happen.

Don't forget that the "average joe" is overweight--60% of the population is now. So no way. But if we're talking about a "generally fit" young male with a healthy build, certainly. 26 isn't that fast. It might take a year or two, but he'd get there.

No. Someone with the speed to run a 26.xx second 200 should be able to run a 58 second 400.

The rule for well-trained distance runners is to add 4 seconds per lap for each doubling in distance. For example, a distance guy running a 52 second 400m would be able to run 52+4+4 = 60 seconds/lap for a mile. Some elites slow down by less than 4 seconds per lap for each doubling in distance, but they're the exception, not the rule.

Our Average Joe will lose some speed if he trained for middle distance events instead of sprints, so a reasonable assumption would be that he slows down from a 58 second 400 to a 61 second 400. Also, he'll have fewer slow twitch muscles than a distance runner, so let's change the 4 second rule into a 6 second rule.

61+6+6 = 73 seconds/lap for 4 laps, which comes out to a 4:52 mile.

Can the average person run a 4:52 mile if properly trained? I don't think so; less than 10% of the guys on our cross country team have gone 4:52 or faster for the mile. I could see the average trained guy running 5:15 or 5:30, but 4:52 seems too fast for most people to do it.

You are confusing the average person with an average runner.

An average runner yes.

An average sportasman from a sport that requires speed yes.

The average person miles away.

I think that the average young male person would be close to 40 seconds.

40 secs. I think you are too generous!!

Whoever said "you can't teach speed" is right. But this thread is about a 26 second 200, which isn't fast. I don't think every male could run 26 (I know some slow-ass dudes) but I say a solid 80% could.

wrong!

flats wrote:

this thread is about a 26 second 200, which isn't fast. I don't think every male could run 26 (I know some slow-ass dudes) but I say a solid 80% could.

I can barely get under 26 for the 200 (my PR is 25.8), and my 1600 time is 4:22. I beat everyone by a pretty huge margin in nearly every high school race, so there's no way the average guy would beat me no matter how much he trained.

Obviously, most of my training was spent running long distances instead of sprints, but I don't think focusing only on sprints would help my 200 time that much. Most speed is raw talent and can't be taught. I might have been able to get in the low 25's or even the high 24's, and I'm confident that I'll pass the Average Joe after he's been allowed a one second head start.