Why do so many high school kids go out too fast?

It's due to bad coaching.

dsrunner wrote:

HS runners go out too fast because their speed side is developed more than the stamina side.

They run the gear that feels right but cannot be sustained

You nailed it.

pace explainer wrote:

The practical answer is kids tend to run as fast as other kids around them. If they did proper pacing, they would go out slow and run slow the rest of the race because they are keeping their place with the kids around them. It's hard for kids to run negative splits the last mile.

I think explains a lot of it. They also don't have as much practice getting tuned into certain paces, nor do they have as much practice running consistent paces for long periods of time. On the flip side, they aren't constrained as much to run the pace they are used to, so they are more liable to break out of a mental rut than us old fogies are.

I admit I am amused when I find myself going out too hard (I'm a bonafide age-group guy running in the mid 17's on the road for 5K, so going out too hard is like 5:20 followed by 5:40 and finishing in 5:50) and still find myself catching the kids who started off with a 5:10 but finish in 6:00. Those kids will toast me next year, though...

It's probably a natural inclination to go to fast when the gun goes off after the nerves of the starting line. Instead of trying to settle in kids often get caught in a tight spot and don't want to slow down until everyone else does. The urge to try and stick with other people when they all go hard from the gun is hard to fight. Because of this they run way too hard through 1/4 or 1/2 mile. Everyone does this so everyone dies at the end, but the faster kids die less and they win. Then they think that going out really hard is the way to win.

Sometimes it is fun go fast at the start, especially if you're in a pack with your teammates.

I've had a few athletes that acted like they didn't think a win counted unless they led wire to wire.

I was that kid. 57/73 were my typical 800m splits.

I think I was just impatient about progressing, and I was eternally optimistic that I would eventually have some huge breakthrough if I kept going out hard. I thought that instead of ratcheting down my PR over time, I could just keep going out in 57, and one day I'd hang on and throw down a 1:56.

I think I correctly believed that my abilities were well ahead of my PRs, but I had the exact wrong method for trying to reconcile them. As I got more and more fit, I ran 2:10 800s with faster and faster first laps.

dsrunner wrote:

HS runners go out too fast because their speed side is developed more than the stamina side.

They run the gear that feels right but cannot be sustained

Bingo. I think this is the main reason.

I'd also add,

1. A lack of racing experience

2. The huge spread in talent in the typical race field (practically speaking makes it hard for most of the pack to go out at the "right" pace).

3. Playing off the quoted point; the more dominant development of their speed side is also seen in the mental component of racing.

I agree in working on pacing with high school runners, but many too often compare optimum race strategy for elite, highly trained athletes to high school runners. It's not always the same thing.

a very confused youngster wrote:

I usually run 5:40, 5:30, 5:20 or finish with all I have. It leads to consistent times. If I can hit 2 miles in 11:00 or 11:20, I have the mental strength to push myself. Or, if I'm hurting I keep that same pace. My coach doesn't like it though, for some reason. Thinks the first mile should be the fastest, which it never should be. Any advice? Is it really better or am I doing the smart thing?

If you're consistently finishing your last mile 20sec faster than your first mile, then you aren't going out fast enough.

Who says that you should not go out fast?

Go out slow, and the race is over.

Check out the last 2 XC champs where the US sucked wind.

If you want to start slower, you will be a nice 4:45 HS miler.

You do realize that the HS runners that LRC is lionizing every year for sub-4 or close to it, start at under 60 for the first lap?

Their coaches did not tell them... "take it easy for a couple of laps and save something for the dramatic finish"

I once raced a guy over 18k who PR'ed his 5k at the start of the race.

These kids are constantly improving and progressing. It's likely that all their previous PRs came from going out hard at the gun. Every race, they have a chance to PR, but they don't know how much better they are and often don't have a good gauge on their abilities.

"Too Fast" = highly subjective wrote:

+1

ManOverboard wrote:

In a lot of races it's tactically smart to go out "too fast" to avoid getting bogged down in the crowd. Especially in xc. Passing dozens of runners who have also gone out too fast and start to slow dramatically after a few hundred meters takes extra energy. Best to just stay with/ahead of those people because you know they're going to be there in every race.

Cross Country races are very strategic. Most courses narrow quickly within a few hundred meters of the start. Drafting is usually a factor. Some schools have their 6 & 7 th runners go out in front to purposely mess with the pacing of other teams. Even more so when JV runs with varsity.

A positive split is not necessarily indicative of "too fast" if the objective is to beat other teams.

These two posts nailed it. I once went out in my actual 5K pace starting out in a race. The race had at least 130 people starting off at the line, a lot of them having 5Ks over 22 Minutes.

I was the absolute last person to the 100m mark, and this was my ACTUAL 5K PACE if not faster. The next two miles I was constantly passing people by trying to maintain the same pace I had since the beginning. Every single 200 meters there would be some guy elbowing me to try and hold his spot even though they were gassed out and didn't have much left. A bunch of the coaches during the race were just also screaming "DON'T LET HIM PASS YOU" which probably made it worse. The only time I got any actual breathing room was after the 2nd mile, so I ended up running a massive negative split. The whole race ended up being more like an all-out fartlek than an actual 5K. I knew that I'd have to pass people on the outside and there would doubtlessly be a few people trying not to let me pass, but I didn't expect there to be so many.

I could've easily ran around 45 seconds faster if I just went out faster and had less people to deal with, and I actually did the next race (even though it was a much hillier course).

I don't know what kind of mental disability you have to have to positive split by 1:30 between your first and second mile, but if I don't run the first 100m hard, I have to sit behind a bunch of idiots for 1/2 of the race.

In track races it is a lot easier though, and there is a lot less elbowing. There are a lot of people who go out fast to take the inside lanes, so there are a lot of JV guys that end up running the full 800/1600 from the second/third lane.

Basically

XC: Secure good positioning and don't get bottlenecked

Track: Get the inside lanes, don't run an 800m from lane 3

This all changes in faster races (bigger invitationals) though, where there are less people fighting for spots.

Brooklyndan wrote:

I know coaches who say that you can go all out for the first 100 meters because it's "free energy" you're using the anaerobic system and sparing your aerobic system.

My college coach said the exact same thing (usually during cross country season). I actually do agree with him. If you're in decent shape you're not going to hurt yourself in the first 100m.

I think high school kids (most, and not just freshman), just get excited and let the adrenaline take over in the beginning.

Folks, they just don't want to be boxed in. That's all.

TrackCoaching wrote:

It's due to bad coaching.

And how do we know your coaching isn't bad....track coach?

Worst coaching instruction ever from the sidelines at the start of a distance race:

"YOU GOTTA GET OUT!!!"

Uhhh...no, actually, you don't.

It's the child in them. Every child thinks they can run full speed forever. I actually laugh. Literally laugh at the idiots in my races. I am in my 50's and I just wait until about 1.5 miles, and say "..getting past by a guy older than your dad..moron!"