I was an 800 guy in high school. Ran my first 2 mile junior year running 9:47 going 5:00/4:47 in a league meet leading wire to wire. Ran another one senior year and ran 9:20, again on 800/mile training. I still primarily run the 800/mile but I think I could have run under 9:15 at the time. Now I think I can run around 9:00 for 2 miles but it's a tough race.
My first 3200m xc race was somewhere in the 14s, I'm not sure. In track we only had the mile for distance races in middle school so my first track 3200m was as a freshman. I ran mid 11s indoors and ended up running 10:18 that year. My HS PR was 9:38 and I ran about 9:15 for an equivalent in college.
Ran around 10:2x I think, and a mile (ok, 1600) PR in the second half of the race. That's the kind of quintessential ting can only happen when you first start running.
My first race was the All-Comer (JV) League meet my first year of running. It was my third of four events (because why not). Didn't have a clue on how to run it, so I just ran with my friend (who was a better than me at anything above the mile anyways). Worked fine until the final lap, when I guess I kind of 'fell asleep' and let my friend and a guy from another local school get too much space on me from 350-150m out. I had a good kick coming down the homestretch but it wasn't quite enough and I finished in 10:47, 6 seconds behind my friend (who won) and probably about 2 seconds behind the other kid. Never ran the race healthy again (not that I didn't want to, but my coach saw me as a 800/1600 guy).
Ran 11:33 for the win with 20mph wind my freshman year of HS.
You know what's weird? I ran the 3,000 a handful of times, and the 2-mile probably a handful of times as well, but I can't remember ANY of my times.
I can remember my 400, 800, 5,000 and 8,000 meter PRs. Just not 3,000 or 3,200.
I'm only 35 so it's not like it was 50 years ago either.
I ran my first one in 12:xx. then ran 9:49 senior year then sucked at state like always.
10:52 freshman year
10:17 sophomore yaer
9:58 junior year
9:49 senior year
My first race at the 3200 distance was in a dual meet. I ended up running a 10:32 as a freshmen, losing to another freshmen that went on to win the Footlocker National Championship his senior year, he went 10:29.
11:55 at the beginning of my first year of xc (10th grade)
ran 42:00 road 10k a few weeks later with bad cramps
did this after running maybe 15 times scattered over the summer
2 mile pr was 10:50 in soph track, in a massive positive split race. Slow compared to 4:50 the same week. Stopped running 2 mile after that.
This season I've only focused on the 800, which I've done in 2:08. (so I'm not really super talented)
6th grade we had a two mile, and I started off with a 1:18 first lap! Ended up with almost perfect milesplits (I think)and got a 12:28.
Small invite early march of freshman year. Goal was to run 90s laps to break 12. Forgot how the race went, but ran 12:01 and was outkicked, finishing in last. Felt great to win the same invite senior year with a 9:35, ending SR year with a 9:14.
I was a sophomore following a group of older guys most of the way in a random dual meet. I had done pretty well in the 1600 previously but was still scared for some reason about my first 3200 (despite being decent at XC). I think I just ran behind the upperclassmen for 6-7 laps before taking over and winning (pretty sure it was 10:10 - 10:15ish, don't remember any splits or even how it felt).
Ended up about 9:20 by senior year and 8:02 lifetime 3k.
hey chris wasnetsky,
my first 3200 was also a 3600! same thing happened, but i wasnt leading and everybody except the slowest guys ran 9 laps.
it was not only my first 3200, but my first race for track ever. split 11:02 at 8 laps and ran 12:20s i think with a very slow and confusing 9th lap. i thought that we were doing a cool down or something, so i didnt even try. nobody else was really racing that last lap either.
also, despite running 9 laps out of 8, i was given a DNF for an unknown reason. missed me at the finish i suppose, or ym numbers fell off. idk
I have some fairly interesting 3200 stories.
The first one I ever did was my freshman year of high school after I pleaded to my coach into letting me do something else other than the 800 after the 1600 (I was better at the 800 but at the time I didn't like it because it was "too short"). I can't recall the exact splits, but they were something fairly odd, like 75-90-90-90-90-90-90-68 for 11:23...yeah I have no idea. My best one came from my junior year of high school where I went out in 4:43 and came back in 5:02 for a total time of 9:45. I know I improved over time but...from the look of things I guess I never really figured out pacing for the 3200.
ah yes my first race ever, a 2 mile xc in 14:14 with 2 days of training, one of which was wieght lifting. I barely broke 20 for 5k in HS but got down to a 27 in college. In my last race I think I split 10:50 for two miles (and then 16xx for the last three). It seems like I could have run under 10 in a two mile race. These days it would probly be like 11. sigh
My first 3200 was my Senior year in HS.
I only started running competitively my Senior year to get in better shape for Baseball (I went to a small HS). When all was said and done in XC, I made All-State, but still thought I was going to play Baseball in College (pipe dream), so I didn't go out for Track.
After incessant lobbying from my XC Coach and teammate, and going on my Campus visit to the College I ended up running in XC for, the Head Track Coach allowed me to tryout with an 800m TT. I split 60-70 (PAIN), but apparently did enough to warrant a trip to that weekend's Track Meet.
This was my first Track Meet ever and I was signed up only for the 3200. After falling behind by 3 hours, the gun went off at 8:15. I ran the way I run, finished 4th in 11:05, only 12 seconds off State Qualifying (again I went to a SMALL HS). The Track Coaches and I thought I could qualify at the next meet. Then mid-term grades came out, my Senioritis caught up to me and that was it for running in HS.
It was fine, I ran DII, had a decent College career, continued training, and set PR's in almost every distance after I graduated from College.
I'm entering my 10th year of Coaching and share this cautionary tale with all the kids I Coach.
Ran 10:11 as a hs frosh, went on to run 9:21 as a senior.
Ran it this year indoor (I am a frosh) (really the 3200)- ran an 11:07 3200. I have my 1st race of spring track tomorrow, but I finished off indoor with a 10:50.
First one was in 8th grade. I think I ran around 10:30 and ended up going sub 9 my senior year. Love this race.
The one and only time I ever ran a two mile on the track - my senior year of HS - I ran 9:47. In the following years I ran THROUGH 2 miles faster than that in 5k's and road races, and by that measure my fastest 2 mile split is 9:19 in a 14:30 5k.