My daughter ran a 22 min 5k in a local road race today, does she have potential to become a good runner?

Your daughter is lanced.

That's absolutely a good time for a middle school-aged girl. I assume she is untrained. If so, she definately has natural talent and should be encouraged.

blah blah blah blah..... Yes, it is a good time. But it matters very little what people do when they are 13. There is a good chance she won't want to run past the age of 16. There is even a chance she won't run again after this one race.

My point is - Yes, she could be very good. She may be in the Olympics one day; you really don't have any idea that how good she can be. But, being good comes from the drive to run fast. The discipline to put the training in day after day. The joy of just running and the joy of winning.

Running is something she should pursue if that's what she wants to do. And pursuing running shouldn't have anything to do with a 13 yo's first 5k time. I'd say the say if she ran 28 minutes.

There is no such thing as potential. Either you do something or you don't.

-The Killer

I'm guessing she is a soccer player and has been "crosstraining" for a few years now.

Don't let the cynical letsrun trolls bring you down. 22 min for an untrained 13 year old girl is exceptional. If she likes running and you think she will have the discipline to do the training, then you should definitely find her a coach to work with so she can be ready to compete in HS. Beyond that, it is impossible to know where that talent will take her. I knew a 12 year old kid that ran the local half marathon in under 1:30, making everyone think he was a future olympian. He grew to about 6'1" by the time he was a sophomore and could never break 17 mi for a 5k in HS. Then, I know a guy who did XC senior year in college for the first time and became a successful pro runner.

The bottom line is that she does have talent and will easily be at the front of the pack at races. That is a pretty nice advantage to have.

She already is a good runner. What you are probably wondering is if she can become a phenomenal runner.

As long as you dont influence negatively her ability to self-motivate with careless pressure, if she continues to lead an active and sportive lifestyle and with a bit of luck against the problems of adolescence, she might indeed become phenomenal...

That's the great reward of working with children: you can treat them all like they might one day become phenomenal.

the point could be wrote:

That's the great reward of working with children: you can treat them all like they might one day become phenomenal.

+1

Well, it's good but not phenomenal. On age graded tables it comes out to 70%, which is um good but not phenomonal. I suppose it depends on what kind of training she has been doing - if she plays soccer 3 times a week, 70% is not great, but if she is inactive otherwise, 70% is quite good.

She should certainly pursue it if she wants to.