Could my son be the next Drew Hunter?

Just let him enjoy it. Be supportive, not pushy.

Drew didn't start running until his freshman year, so you'll have to wait but be forewarned that he was running way faster on much less training. Plus he doesn't have the same coaching support or parents with proven pedigree, I'm guessing....

Michigan Guy wrote:

I think we have all been seriously blown away by the achievements of Drew lately and think he's really set an example for even younger athletes looking to come through. I hope he goes on to even bigger and better things and this looks very possible given what I've read about him and his coach.

So I'm wondering if other kids could follow in his footsteps? My own son is 14 just now and has the following PR's:

400m - 57.8

800m - 2:09

1600 - 4:56

He's got a lot of dedication and is currently running 5 days per week and averaging about 45-50 mpw with 2 interval / speed workouts. He's doing some X-country also and is always in the top few in his races.

What was Drew doing at this age?

Thanks a lot

No bad, but he is only slightly better than average for a H.S. 14 yo. Assuming he is in H.S., I would say he is off to a good start, but there is nothing so far in your son's PRs to suggest he is the next Drew Hunter. Btw, these are about equal to my middle school times off of half of your son's mileage.

45-50 MPW spread across 5 days per week is 9-10 miles per day when he runs. That is a good amount of training for a 14 year old. Many runners have run much faster on less training. I don't know of Drew Hunter's progression but here is what Alan Webb ran each year.

Grade - MPW, 400m, 800m, Mile, 3200m

8th - ?, ?, ?, 4:52, ?

9th - 30, 54, 1:56, 4:24, 9:34

10th - 40, 49.8, 1:51.9, 4:06.94, 9:10

11th - 50, 48.4, 1:50, 4:03.33, 8:59.9

12th - 60, 47.4, 1:47.74, 3:53.43, 8:45

http://www.youthrunner.com/news/story/alan-webb-interview-3313

Michigan Guy wrote:

I think we have all been seriously blown away by the achievements of Drew lately and think he's really set an example for even younger athletes looking to come through. I hope he goes on to even bigger and better things and this looks very possible given what I've read about him and his coach.

So I'm wondering if other kids could follow in his footsteps? My own son is 14 just now and has the following PR's:

400m - 57.8

800m - 2:09

1600 - 4:56

He's got a lot of dedication and is currently running 5 days per week and averaging about 45-50 mpw with 2 interval / speed workouts. He's doing some X-country also and is always in the top few in his races.

What was Drew doing at this age?

Thanks a lot

Michigan Guy,

There is just no telling what a 14-year-old freshman(?) can end up doing with the times you have listed there. The progression from that age and that point hits all levels.

I know a kid who ran 4:42 for 1600 in 8th grade and he only got down to 4:24 by the time he was a senior. I know another kid who ran 5:28 in 8th grade and was down to 4:19 by his sophomore year.

You just can not tell.

My suggestion (but only if he is really into it -- you do NOT want to push him, or it could easily be over):

1) Why running just 5 days a week? He should build up to 7 days a week with ONE low day of a 4-5 mile run. Have three big mileage weeks and then step the 4th one back 20% and then go back up to three big mileage weeks...repeat (this is done in summer or after CC before track starts); but, even in season you can do this a little bit -- just that overall mileage might be a little less. Eventually only take a day off if sick or have a nagging pain that won't go away or you need a very rare day off just to refresh a bit. Mostly, keep on running every day.

2) DO NOT talk of greatness. Allow HIM to bring it up if he wants. And, if he asks things like "Do you think I can break 9:00?" then you say stuff like "I'm not going to put any limits on you. Just train and eat well and get enough sleep and see where that takes you."

3) Finally, just know that while no one could know where he ends up eventually, those times are decent but not stellar for a 14-year-old. You should not get it in you head that he's the next coming of Drew Hunter or you will LIKELY be disappointed...and he will see that in you which is not good. Good luck to you both.

Nice performances.

I met several people in a similar situation.

From what I read the time range when a runner can have progress, is 10 years, if training seriously. After that is plateau and decline.

My father coached me for a few years and when I was 15-16 he told me that his plan is to build based until 20, otherwise I'll be wasted by then.

A guy who was my age and my rival was training for performance since he was 8.

I beat him only once, but my father was right that he won't make it very far. From age of 19 to 25 he kept training intensive, but the progress was insignificant.

Every person may be different, but most of us are built on the same model.

So you should think what is better for your son. Be great in HS, or have patience and try to reach higher.

Either way, there is something which you should do anyway. Help him develop his gross motor skills; these can be developed only until the age of 26.

Good luck!

not so sure about this

Let him decide for himself, you can't make him be the next Drew Hunter, but he can.

Support your son but do not push him. Do not focus on PR's which will create pressure and sets one up for disappointment. Allow your son to continue to enjoy running and competition. Don't focus on finish time after a race but ask what can be learned from every competition regardless of finish time or place. Make sure your sons knows he should listen to his body and cut back on mileage or even stop a practice early if he has detects some new pain.

I like what Walt Drenth and Lisa Senakiewich have to say on the subject of what to focus on. Below is just one article where Walt mentions it.

http://www.runnersworld.com/rt-web-exclusive/for-walt-drenth-process-trumps-outcome

Walt Drenth: I don’t want to oversimplify it, but our expectations are the same for both groups. We kind of set our objectives as process-based instead of outcome-based, so we do put some performance objectives out there but really it’s process first. We look at what sort of things we need to do to be successful and then really focus on managing those things and let the results be the results. There have been times when both groups have run really well and I thought we managed the process really well, but we didn’t perform at maybe what some people would consider a high level. And at other times we’ve won meets or we’ve been pretty competitive and I thought that we really didn’t do the things that we needed to do from a process standpoint and could have been better. So we try to take it more from a learning approach than anything else—what we’ve learned, how do we apply it to the next time and improve? Those are our primary objectives.

You and your son can listen to Walt and Lisa and ask them questions on 2/17 at a Clinic for coaches, athletes, parents and others.

http://www.playmakers.com/Events/PlaymakersEvents.aspx

Michigan Guy wrote:

Could my son be the next Drew Hunter?

Depends. What did you name him?

I hear the formula is weekly repeats at 10k pace + 200s at mile pace. Just do that and he'll run 3:57 in the mile in 3 years

no. i have a guy on my team who ran 1:55 in the 800 at 14, a 50 400 and 4:23 mile. and he's not even on drew hunters level now. unless he was dropping those times or faster I wouldn't anticipate it.

At 14 I was running maybe 20 miles a week and I ran 56, 2:06, and 4:45, your son is probably running too much and IF YOU BURN HIM OUT he has no chance of becoming "the next Drew Hunter". There are plenty of 14 year old who run those times off of a fraction of his mileage. Dont be concerned if your son becomes an all star or not. Let him have fun and set his own goals. You dont want to be the dad who makes his kid hate running because running is a wonderful thing but if someone, especially a young kid, is pushed too hard and trained too hard he will never come anywhere near his potential. The best of luck to you and your son! I hope you guys figure out what is best for him and never limit his dreams but dont let your dreams become his.

I'm guessing the OP is a troll. 40-50 miles is way too much for a 14 year old. I also ran faster than those times at that age with virtually no training. Was a D1 runner, but nothing special. Those times off of that much mileage don't particularly indicate above average potential.

How could you know that 40 miles is to much for a 14 year old. Jakob ingebrigtsen ran 70 kilometers a week when he was 11 years old according to the local papers. He seems tall enough for his age. And his performances tell all you need to know.

Yeah, Flagpole that makes sense for an 8th grader to run 7 days per week!! Why didn't that work out for you?

Is your son a FL qualifier or a State Champion yet off this training/thinking?

If I am reading his post correctly, his son is 14 "just now" meaning he turned 14 recently, meaning that he is in 8th grade.

2:09 and 4:56 in February is outstanding in 8th grade. Likely will be 4:50 this year and 4:40 as a freshman. This is outstanding.

Not the caliber of someone like Hunter who ran 8:16m and 8:53y as a sophomore. I believe Hunter ran 9:40 for 3200m as a freshman, which is great, but DOES NOT predict Jim Ryun or Alan Webb-like success later. Webb ran 4:20 for 1600 as a freshman in his first season of competitive running.

newname wrote:

Yeah, Flagpole that makes sense for an 8th grader to run 7 days per week!! Why didn't that work out for you?

Is your son a FL qualifier or a State Champion yet off this training/thinking?

If I am reading his post correctly, his son is 14 "just now" meaning he turned 14 recently, meaning that he is in 8th grade.

2:09 and 4:56 in February is outstanding in 8th grade. Likely will be 4:50 this year and 4:40 as a freshman. This is outstanding.

Not the caliber of someone like Hunter who ran 8:16m and 8:53y as a sophomore. I believe Hunter ran 9:40 for 3200m as a freshman, which is great, but DOES NOT predict Jim Ryun or Alan Webb-like success later. Webb ran 4:20 for 1600 as a freshman in his first season of competitive running.

I said he should build up to that. I didn't say he should do it immediately. He is wondering if his son is the next Drew Hunter...I was referring to high school training, but to give more info here, IF he can handle it and IF he is into it, then by the summer before his freshman year, then he can run 7 days a week with only the very occasional off day. Weekly days off are for people who are injury prone and need to do so to stave off injury.

I have personally watched three different kids run 4:50 miles at the end of eighth grade, and that's just in my town over the last four years. None of them are Drew Hunters now, even though they are very good. Your son is good but he's not a phenom.

Ok I'm scoring myself a solid 8/10 on this one!