How do I become one of the best HS runners in the nation?

hmmmm wrote:

If you are worrying about "nutrition, drills, stretching, and all of the extra stuff" we can reasonably assume you are not going to make it there.

Best response possible.

Not messing around anymore wrote:

How do I get to the top? Like 8:50's or Footlooker Finalist? What do I do to get there. Not only training but nutrition, drills, stretching,all of the extra stuff.

You have taken the first step by actually stating your desires. Now you need to commit to a program and not stray from it for quite a while. Get a coach that knows his program, that knows what you want, and get some training in. But while you train, do not log on this forum. Do not search for results. Do not research training methods. Become addicted to your own training, and look over your training plan and the materials your coach has given you daily like its your key to salvation.

Some people may say you need to do tons of mileage at easy paces and wait for your aerobic efforts to become so monstrous that everything is much faster in relation, and your race times drop tremendously.

Some people will say that you need to get your maximum speed(i.e. 100m/200m) down as fast as possible because it will limit your performances.

Some people will say to work on your threshold as much as possible and get your fastest aerobic running while not going into lactic sufferage as fast as possible.

All of these theories are correct.

You need to start from scratch with each aspect of your running. Maximum speed, Best aerobic effort, and endurance, as well as various race distance efforts. You need to start each of them at a low level, and each at a low pace, and as you build your endurance you need to build each of them with it at the same pace.

Your 200m time needs to drop down to sub 25seconds at the same rate that your endurance needs to tolerate a 20mile run. Your best aerobic effort needs to drop below 5:30 miles for 10 miles at the same rate.

There is one runner in this country that has been training this way, has been for years. And with his meager amount of talent, combined with methodical all-around training, he has become America's greatest runner. And this will most likely be the year where he is the greatest at every distance. Galen Rupp.

Hey man don't listen to any of these wankers talking about genetics... I had no talent in High School. I ran 4:35 in 11th grade then my senior year I started training harder, I averaged 48 miles throughout the whole track season my PR's in the 400 were 52, 1:58 in the 800, those are shitty but I continued believing in my goal and wrote it down, not caring about taking small steps, I wanted to get my time and that's it. I ran 4:20 at the end of the year, I then ripped the paper on which I wrote my goal down.

^48 miles per week is not going to get you there. If anything, you should be doing that kind of mileage when your in middle school. Time is everything my friend, remember, the earlier you start, the better. You need to probably already have a strong base going into HS- Sub 30 second 200, at least 5:15-5:30 mile, Be able to do at least 15 miles or so at around 8-8:30. If your in High School, you may already be out of time.

BUT.....Don't ever give up on your dreams and goals. If you dream you will succeed(that is if you dream and work really, really hard) Keep pushing and training and never give up. Remember Brian Sell? He was an average HS XC runner and he was 3rd at U.S. Olympic Trials in the Marathon. But, if you think you can get there in High School(one of the most important parts to get yourself into the minds of the people) than:

You should be doing AT LEAST 70-75 miles average per week, with a lot of speedwork and Cross Training.

-Stay dedicated, commited, and addicted. Never stop running for one season as you loose fitness when you do that. Always keep your training consistent and intense.

-Never let yourself lag in races; always push to your maximum.

-Tell yourelf you can always do it, don't let people tell you you can't because than you won't.

Good luck on your future goals.

Not messing around anymore wrote:

How do I get to the top? Like 8:50's or Footlooker Finalist? What do I do to get there. Not only training but nutrition, drills, stretching,all of the extra stuff.

You are ripping on people for talking about genetics, but that is a huge part of the equation. We also don't know anything about your current p.r's and what it took to get there. If you are a 9:15 guy as a junior with not much training, then people can give you advice to get to sub 9. If you are a guy who has trained intelligently and hard throughout high school and ran 9:39 as a junior, then no amount of great advice is going to get you to 8:50. Several times I have seen kids with not much talent start talking about 4:10 miles and then when their hard work gets them nowhere near to 4:10, they lose motivation. Everyone needs to set high, but realistic goals based on their genetics. As you work hard and achieve those goals, then set new ones.

DrFranklin wrote:

Not messing around anymore wrote:

How do I get to the top? Like 8:50's or Footlooker Finalist? What do I do to get there. Not only training but nutrition, drills, stretching,all of the extra stuff.

There is one runner in this country that has been training this way, has been for years. And with his meager amount of talent, combined with methodical all-around training, he has become America's greatest runner. And this will most likely be the year where he is the greatest at every distance. Galen Rupp.

That was an absolutely brilliant post until the part about Rupp being a meager talent. A 4:30 HS miler might be considered meager on this board, but not many would consider 4:01 to be meager. (and he's not even a miler!)

I'm currently a freshman. In middle school my 200 PR was 29, my mile was 5:00 and I had built up to an 18 mile run at sub-7 min pace. Then I got injured and am trying to build back up. Thanks for the advice. It sounds very good.

Oh and I ran 10:15 last yaer in 8th grade

I like the remark about taking things step by step. 10:15 in 8th grade would be one of the best times for that age in the country. Get up to 50 miles a week for your freshman year 60-70 for your sophomore year and 70-80 for your senior year and don't take huge breaks during the year and you'll be one of the top 20 in the country soon enough with that talent. 10:15 for 3200 or 3000?

I ran 5:04 and 10:46 as a freshman. I started running morning runs and got my mileage up to 70 miles a week by sophmore year in track and did a 12-15 mile long run every week. And ran year round. I was doing more right away than my teammates who were 4:28 and 9:50 two milers. And I wasn't trying to be the best in the nation, just my my conference with a goal someday to make it it state.

Pretty quickly the times dropped and I was improving every 6 months to a higher level. My senior year times were 4:08 and 8:46. But that just happened, I didn't have a goal to be the best in the nation until right before my senior year in cross country.

3200 in 10:15

Yeah 3200 in 10:15. Amd thanks for your story. Very insparational. And yeah I'm at 50 right now hoping to bump it up some

not messing around anymore wrote:

Oh and I ran 10:15 last yaer in 8th grade

10:15 and 5 flat in 8th grade definitely show some talent. As most would agree though, middle school is way too early to know just how much talent. Some kids mature earlier and don't improve as much. With that said, you seem to have the work ethic along with some fast early times to become a very good high school runner. Instead of focusing too much on the end of high school, take it one year at a time. If you ran 5 flat in 8th grade, shoot for sub 4:40 as a freshman, a challenging goal, but achievable. Also, with your work ethic, you need to be careful about doing too much too soon. You did the 17 mile run and got injured. Did you work up to that? Hard work does nothing for you, if you end up injured half the time. Work hard, but stay healthy. Keep a detailed runner's log. Read as much as possible about running; don't just read one book and follow that training. Become a student of the sport. Learn why tempo runs and long runs can help you. When you understand exactly why you are doing a certain type of training and what is happening physiologically, it can help you to become smarter in your training. Good luck. It is nice to see a young talent with a great work ethic.

Yupp wrote:

3200 in 10:15

If that's the case just train and have fun with your racing. Work on your 800 and mile. Run a 10k or 10 mile road race in the summer. Have realistic goals, like 9:45 as a freshman. Don't worry about the next year, just take it season by season. Develop confidence in your last lap as well as the toughness to move early near the end of the race-last 800 or 1200.

100 meter strides at least 3-5 times a week.I wouldn't worry much about drills, that's more icing on the cake when you older and improvement slows down. You'll improve at a decent clip just through gradual increase of mileage (very gradual).

hmmmm wrote:

If you are worrying about "nutrition, drills, stretching, and all of the extra stuff" we can reasonably assume you are not going to make it there.

Bingo. He won't get anywhere close.

to run 10:15 off of a best of 5 flat in middle school is hard to believe unless the 1600 wasn't near the end of the season. even Komen (3:46 mile/7:58 2M) slowed 13 seconds per mile.

if you want to be one of the best, buy a book about Kenyan training (Toby Tanser, for example) and copy it. They don't worry about genetics; they just get large numbers of kids to run incredibly hard and boom, large numbers of kids run far better than 8:50.

Not messing around anymore wrote:

How do I get to the top? Like 8:50's or Footlooker Finalist? What do I do to get there. Not only training but nutrition, drills, stretching,all of the extra stuff.

Just by asking the question it is an indication that you are a dreamer, not a doer.

You shouldn't even be thinking about what the view is like from the top of the ladder. Instead, your focus should be on what you need to do to climb that ladder. You do it one rung at a time. Once you move up, you look to the next rung. And continue. If you are lucky you might be one of the in the few in the 8:50s.

What specific methods are there to climb a ladder one rung at a time? There are none. There are general traits that will get you there and even if you don't possess them now you can acquire them. Be consistent and persistent. Run twice a day, even if you only run 2-3 miles in the morning, you will benefit greatly from them. Race hard. Be a competitor, not a fitness runner. Don't be afraid to fail, in fact, EMBRACE your failures. Your failures will harden the rung you are on.

and now for the real secret >>>> relax and enjoy the ride.

Hey guys thanks for all the awnsers. I will try to start adding some morning runs and learning even more about the sport. I'll try to take it one step at a time and set realistic goals for myself. Keep it coming

You're lucky. Today there are youtube videos of historical races. Watch them. Notice how they dig way deep inside to find a gear that doesn't exist, even the ones who don't win do it. Become what you see. Then you do it. Even if you are now way back in the pack, fight for every place like it's your Olympics. One day it might be.

Towson Exile Too wrote:

DrFranklin wrote:

There is one runner in this country that has been training this way, has been for years. And with his meager amount of talent, combined with methodical all-around training, he has become America's greatest runner. And this will most likely be the year where he is the greatest at every distance. Galen Rupp.

That was an absolutely brilliant post until the part about Rupp being a meager talent. A 4:30 HS miler might be considered meager on this board, but not many would consider 4:01 to be meager. (and he's not even a miler!)

he ran a 4.01 training this way under salazar.