8th Grade Times

Don't lose sight of what is good. Most of the guys posting on here are either exagerating or are exceptional runners. If you are running 5:30 or under you are doing well at this point. Even if you are slightly slower don't worry about it. I have seen people who came into a season with the inability to run sub 6 turn that into a sub 16 5K in high school. If you are not where you want to be evaluate your training. Faster times will also come with maturity. I have seen a lot of kids mature early, run the 4:30 times in 9th grade but never progress much beyond that. You could have much more in you. Give yourself time to develop. Distance running is about patience and hard work. If you do both, you will be successful. Don't be in a hurry. Enjoy your running and don't let it frustrate you. This is the greatest sport in the world.

i think most decent middle schoolers usually just run to win and aren't really thinking about times at that point. i really didn't know what a good time was when i was in 8th grade, i just ran hard enough to win races.