My track coach wants me to run a 400 for the first time, when I've only ever ran 100m and 200m before this, and I've been experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety because of this. I'm just wondering what time is around average for a girl around my age, so I have a time to aim for.
Average untrained? About 90
Average track girl? 80
Average freshman who will be competing in varsity races and invites? 63-65
You may start with an 80. I've seen girls your age start with a 77 to 80 and by the end of May racing sub-70. Anything sub-70 for your age is solid.
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Thank you. I'll try to aim for under 80 at my first meet.
Agree with what has been posted above. Getting your time this year into the 65-70 range would be pretty good for your age.
Good luck. Let the anxiety go. The best part about doing an event you don't typically compete at is that there are no real expectations. You have nothing to lose, everything to gain.
what are your 100m and 200m times? That would helps us give you an idea of your potential.
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Just run
The guys above probably said it best. My only advice is to run the first 200m with your sprint form, but without a lot of ambition, that way you run a few seconds slower than PB 200m time. That'll set up a good pace so you can run a good first 400m dash. Oh, and your legs burn after 200m, so will everyone else's. Hold on for dear life and avoid slowing down or breaking down technique/form wise, it's easy to do that as you get closer to the finish line.
I am a middle school student that runs the 400. My coaches never trained me for the race but my time was 68 seconds. Is that a good time?
I am a middle school student that runs the 400. My coaches never trained me for the race but my time was 68 seconds. Is that a good time?
Very good! Keep working hard.
Most 14 year olds of either gender can't even run a full 400.
"... most 14 year olds ... can't ... run ... 400m." That doesn't make any sense. Do you remember the presidential physical fitness tests? Fourth grade through sixth grade raced 400 yards. Sixth grade through tenth grade raced 600 yards. Also, 600yds. or 600m & 1600m or one mile race in PE class from 8th grade through 10th grade. I recall two or three boys and maybe four or five girls per class who did the walk/jog combination. Everyone else ran their best.
I’m sorry but this is untrue. I’m a 14 year old girl and i started of with an 81. That is pretty bad. I was being creamed pretty easily back then. Now I get 68’s and 69’s and I’m beat a lot. I live in VA and that isn’t excactly the ‘runners’ state if you ask me. I know girls that run 60’s and 59’s. I was untrained when I got an 81.
baileyyflemflem wrote:
I’m sorry but this is untrue. I’m a 14 year old girl and i started of with an 81. That is pretty bad. I was being creamed pretty easily back then. Now I get 68’s and 69’s and I’m beat a lot. I live in VA and that isn’t excactly the ‘runners’ state if you ask me. I know girls that run 60’s and 59’s. I was untrained when I got an 81.
Same is true for the most talented girls. Raevyn Rogers ran 53 sec at age 12, and I still remember when some people here in the forum said it's a century talent and will threaten the doped record of Koch one time. Well, she only improved to 52s which she PR'ed last year (at age 21ish), she is primarily an 800m runner tho.
400m speed (same with 100+200m) is mostly genetically determined, by the ratio/amount of your fast-twitch muscle fibers. It's almost impossible for someone who is naturally slow to become much faster due to training. It's nothing like distance running, where huge improvements can happen with training.
I always say - if you are FAST (in sprints), you will know it long before you even start training. That's how much talent / natural ability matters!
baileyyflemflem wrote:
I’m sorry but this is untrue. I’m a 14 year old girl and i started of with an 81. That is pretty bad. I was being creamed pretty easily back then. Now I get 68’s and 69’s and I’m beat a lot. I live in VA and that isn’t excactly the ‘runners’ state if you ask me. I know girls that run 60’s and 59’s. I was untrained when I got an 81.
Fastest 8th grade girl in Virginia in 2018 was 65.27. Second fastest was 65.76.
Fastest in Illinois was just a shade under 61
https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Division/Event.aspx?DivID=92271&Event=21&filter=8Average for that age group amongst your school peers would be quite dismal as most kids are unfit these days, I would say 2 minutes or slower as a genreal average. For those involved in athletics would probably be around 1:10 to 1:30, the very fastest on a decent track team get around 1:03-1:08.
Under or around 1:10 is an absolutely fantastic 400m run time for a female of any age. You will compete well in the majority of races and you have enough speed to be a decent middle distance runner.
If you are aiming for a future in running or a guaranteed scholarship, you should around 0:56 seconds (or under) at age 14 but the kind of natural physical talent in undr to go under 1:00 in a 400m for a woman at any age is very rare, not a lot can pull that off and that includes professional sportswomen.