Which pro runner had the slowest high school times?

Droddy shouldn't count. By his own admission he really was in track for the social piece of it. He really didn't try.

shootpost wrote:

LateRunnerPhil wrote:

Reed Fischer's (Tinman Elite) first 5k was 23:54 as Freshman. Barely made it under 21 in his first year of running. Ended HS as 4:29/9:30 (Mile/3200)

Then, ran a 1:01 half marathon, and multiple 13 mid 5k's. He got no talent/speed, but worked harder than anyone else I've seen. Proof you don't need much talent for good performances in long-distance running.

I see you use the term "pro" loosely.

Having an Adidas contract doesn't make one a pro?

He barely runs 80-90 mpw for his training and ran 61. Being super good at tempos and threshold is the system that plays directly into the half-marathon. You can have amazing threshold/SubT talent. Tyler Day has no top end speed, but can crush workouts at buffalo park like no one in the history of NAU. There are different muscle types that increase your ability to run different distances well. No Talent is the guy who runs 100+ miles a week for years but can't break 70 in the half. Reed Fischer IS talented and to say otherwise is ignorant.

I don't think he has no talent. For a professional runner he is definitely in the conversation. How many pro men have a high school pr over 2 minutes? Any of those people would be in contention in my book.

No talent is the guy who runs 100MPW and can't break 1:45. I know some of them.

Tyler Day is the guy who will be pro next year.

former Iowa great wrote:

Karissa Schweizer attended to best running school in the state and comes from a die hard running g family. She was serious about running all through high school yet improved by 90 seconds in the 3000 after graduating.

So what was holding her back?

Pretty sure Dick Beardsley ran 4:35 in hs. Pat Porter ran 9:51 2 mile but that was at high altitude.

1:45 800 m? It is only borderline world class

4:18 won't set the world on fire in hs but it still considered very respectable and few runners at that age percentage wise ever reach that level

Banana Man wrote:

I always wonder about how much people can improve. Maybe I‘m just looking for some inspiration right now, but I want to know if there are pros out there that weren’t spectacular in high school.

Additionally, if people just have general stories about people improving a ton from high school to becoming All-American or that kind of thing I’d love to hear that to!

Being a high school phenom does not necessarily equate to future success. A lot of variables need to fall in place in addition to hard work and some luck. A good high school coach/mentor, a good college coach/mentor, and a solid post-collegiate support system which includes training partners and a knowledgable coach. Yes, talent is a plus but not the "Only" factor. Distance-wise, if you get a kid who can run 2:00/4:15/9:10 in high school while running 50-60mi per week MAX at the end of 4 years you've got a "Diamond in the Rough" in which any decent collegiate coach can develop into a 1:55/4:00/13:30-40 runner while running 60-80mi per week MAX after 4 years. The real jump occurs between the age of 21-30 yrs old in which training and talent are equal and are maximized. I believe the key factors at this point are solid coaching, a reliable training group, quality training facilities, and being consistent. There are training groups around the country that offer all of these. Make a few phone calls, pack up your bags, and chase the dream.

Go Run One!

Daniel Lincoln ran 4:16 1600m in High School and set the AR in the steeple.

NoHardWorkJustTalent wrote:

He barely runs 80-90 mpw for his training and ran 61. Being super good at tempos and threshold is the system that plays directly into the half-marathon. You can have amazing threshold/SubT talent. Tyler Day has no top end speed, but can crush workouts at buffalo park like no one in the history of NAU. There are different muscle types that increase your ability to run different distances well. No Talent is the guy who runs 100+ miles a week for years but can't break 70 in the half. Reed Fischer IS talented and to say otherwise is ignorant.

Doing more isn't always better. Maybe the 100+ mpw guys that can't break 70 are doing more than they can handle/recover from or they are not focusing enough on key workouts. There are many people running 100+ mpw, mostly easy and maybe some half-hearted workouts. That's not intelligent training.

Fischer has an outstanding lactate (and aerobic) threshold, yes. But that's the most trainable metric. Hard work got him there. You think he had a ~4:40 lactate threshold when he ran his first 5k in 24 min? He trained to get there.

There are people like Justyn Knight or Grant Fisher that run 16-17 min 5k without ANY training. They show up one day and run that. Then, even on low mileage they can run 13 minutes. Put Reed Fischer, someone with 90%+ slow twitch type 1 muscle fibers on such a training program and he would remain mediocre. Neither his anaerobic capacity, nor his basic speed and speed endurance are good enough to run a sub 4 mile or 1:50 800m, times you would expect from the average elite runner WITH talent.

The stats don't back you up. Many more high school runners hit the times that you listed than what college runners hit the times you listed.

"How did I know you ran a 4:30 mile in high school? That's easy. Everyone ran a 4:30 mile in high school." - Frank Shorter

I never really quite understood what he meant. While a good time, a 4:30 won't get you a scholarship and you will probably most likely be running on the club team rather than varsity for many D1 schools. I guess for the casual runners, it sounds impressive but most 4:30 runners are 4:00 wannabes--from my personal experience.

Kev2 wrote:

I never really quite understood what he meant.

This bass here is pretty good, but you should have seen the monster that jumped outa the boat!

They don't exist. If you've run 5+ years of consistent, solid, smart training and have always been in it to win big, yet still haven't done so or made at least a sizable jump in times, that means it's not possible. Hard truth.

Banana Man wrote:

I always wonder about how much people can improve. Maybe I‘m just looking for some inspiration right now, but I want to know if there are pros out there that weren’t spectacular in high school.

Additionally, if people just have general stories about people improving a ton from high school to becoming All-American or that kind of thing I’d love to hear that to!

100% Kim Conley