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

DrFranklin, I disagree with just about everything you are saying, but this is coming from someone saying Galen Rupp wasn't talented. Ignorance is not bliss, ignorance is just that. So many runners have no plan and just try to pound out the miles and end up getting injured. Knowing how to train is just as important as having the will to train hard. This kid sounds like a go-getter. He will train hard, but he has already had one injury at a young age and he needs to be SMART about his training, as well as dedicated. Does he need to become an exercise scientist? No, but a good general knowledge of the sport is a good idea. My experience has been that the majority of top level runners have done some background reading on the sport, including Steve Magness, which I am guessing this kid wouldn't mind having similar success to.

Rodgy wrote: experience has been that the majority of top level runners have done some background reading on the sport, including Steve Magness, which I am guessing this kid wouldn't mind having similar success to.

Let's hope not. Magness was one of the most talented high school milers ever and he completely wasted his talent.

better than you wrote:

Rodgy wrote: experience has been that the majority of top level runners have done some background reading on the sport, including Steve Magness, which I am guessing this kid wouldn't mind having similar success to.

Let's hope not. Magness was one of the most talented high school milers ever and he completely wasted his talent.

I agree, but I think this kid wouldn't mind having the success that Magness had in HIGH SCHOOL. I should have clarified that. I also think there were a lot of issues in regards to Magness and his post high school running career, but I don't think knowing a lot about running was one of them. He had a ton of success in high school and then very little after that. He knew a ton about training while he was having that high school success, which I contend is a good thing. DrFranlin doesn't agree with that, which is fine. Everybody has their own thoughts on that.

The greatest runners I ran against in college were the least knowledgeable about training. Their talent plus college level coaching was more than enough.

The greatest runners I ran against after college knew as much about training as most elite coaches.

not messing around anymore wrote:

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.

What I am most impressed about is not your 29 second 200, not your 5 minute mile, not even your 10:15 3200m, but your 18 mile long run in sub-7. If that's the case, if you trained for a marathon you could already be at 2:45 potential. Which at age 14-15 is already up there with elite figures such as Haile Gebrsalassie(2:48 marathon-14) and Bruce Lee(2:48 marathon-13) Not saying it's neccessarily a good idea, and not saying my calculations might be completely right, but it sounds like you have a lot of marathon talent.

Campell Street Pirate wrote:

The greatest runners I ran against in college were the least knowledgeable about training. Their talent plus college level coaching was more than enough.

The greatest runners I ran against after college knew as much about training as most elite coaches.

That sounds fair. I guess if you are talented and have a good coach and listen to him, you will have success. Unfortunately in high school there are not a ton of great coaches, but lots of good ones. Hopefully with the OP's enthusiasm he does have a good coach that can help guide him to his goals. I still think it helps to have a broad understanding of what training is all about.

I will give an example of one of my son's teammates. He doesn't like to run in the winter and he does not understand why not doing so will affect his cross country season next fall. If he understood a little more what was happening physiologically, he would know why training in Deember, January and February along with track and summer training will make him a better runner 6 months later.

my hs coach took a look at all of the kids who were phenom freshmen and sophomore year. Exceedingly few of them were fast in college in beyond. He did this to reassure my teammate, who wanted to be pushing his training harder--he ended up being the fastest runner in the country his senior year. Point is--don't worry about your times--just gradually build up your mileage and stay consistent. Take your gains gradually, without worrying about the ultimate goal. also keep in mind that your body is still developing and that excessive speedwork and excessive mileage can permanently stunt your development.

This kid sort of reminds me of myself except he's a year ahead of at his age. I could also go out and do 15 mile runs (probably only 8:00 pace though) right away after I started running as a freshman. No one else on my team ever contemplated running that far, even the regional qualifier. We didn't have the internet of course then. I read Marty Liquori's book and immediately copied the training for 31:00 10k runner even though I was only a 39:00 10k runner then.

My mile time was always inferior to my two mile early on like this guy. But when I was running 10:15 I was at 4:45. Which is probably where he's at at least.

It seems the average two mile time for a 4:30 guy is 10:00-10:10. Based on all the questionnaires I used to read when recruiting high schoolers .

LOL at you thinking you don't have talent. It took me 7 years (4 HS and 3 College) to get down to 4:35

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.

What is your age?

What is your year in school?

What are your previous bests?

What is your situation with your coach?

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.

What is your age?

What is your year in school?

What are your previous bests?

What is your situation with your coach?

He had already answered those questions except for the situation with his coach.

not messing around anymore wrote:

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

Not messing around anymore

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

Sorry I didn't see these previous posts

With middle school times of 5.00 and 10.15 you are set up to do great things. I can assure you of that. You are national championship material no matter what these folks say.

What pace are you running your 50miles per week at? And do you have a coach or do you train yourself?

With correct training, this spring you should be in the 4.30s at least and the 9.30s for 3200. With 12 months training from today, next spring you should be a contender for a state championship in both events no matter which state you compete in.

joecrunner wrote:

Pretty sure you don't have to run 12.5 to be an 8:50 3200m. There Ritz never broke 52 for the 400, and even some sub 4 milers can't break 50.

1) What on earth are you going on about. You do know you don't just run your 100 pr 4 times in a row to get a 400 time? I don't know any sub 50 guys who can't go faster than 12.5, and probably aren't any 52 guys who can't.

2) Ritz never raced a 400 at his peak. So ridiculous point. I remember people made a big deal about Mcdougal not being able to break a 58 or something, and then he busted out a 3:57 mile in which he probably pr'd in the 400. Never having done something, and not being able to do it are not the same thing. Ritz wouldn't know what's it's like to race a 400 at his utmost peak when his speed is the most sharp. He would never even attempt it.

3) How many sub 4 milers ran a 400 in a race at their peak? 0

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.

My son achieved these goals. He was always a good runner, even messing around before he started to compete. But here are some things that I'm pretty sure really helped him.

He had a coach early on who helped him with a long range plan, with the goal of slowly increasing weekly miles over his whole high school career. He increased by about 10 miles/week each year and max'd out at 60-65 per week.

He was never injured and his coach avoided injury-inducing killer workouts like the plague. He always did his long runs and recovery runs at jogging pace 8-9 min miles.

He always tried to run on soft surfaces, virtually never on roads.

He ran year round, except he'd take a week or two off at the end of xc and track to just rest and recover.

He watched his diet like crazy and never drank soda or ate junk food. Never.

He watched his weight and had a ver low BMI.

His coach did core and warm up drills very solar to those of Greg McMillan.

He got plenty of sleep.

Running never dominated his life and he kept a lot of other interests throughout high school. He always enjoyed running.

Maybe some of that will help. Of all that, I'd have to say avoiding injuries and not overdoing it was probably the number one most important thing. We saw many talented kids drop out along the way with injuries. Good luck.

Train on a long-term plan, not a hard-and-fast one. Keep consistent mileage in the off-season! Do the right kind of workouts, stay healthy, and you'll get there.

More important than being a to HS runner you have to think about the future. It's better to have longevity as an athlete than to burnout after high school.

Whether you're talented or not, commit yourself to training, love the sport and be humble.

It's very important to be humble and love running. Focus on giving your best every race and pushing your limits. Try to push beyond pain the most you can.

If you do that and you're succesful in training you may though not be the best but you'll be one of the best and happy with yourself.

In addition to a lot of the advice given so far, it is important to find good coach or mentor near by to watch you a little from time to time and knock ideas off of. Given your pretty good times, I am sure that some good coaches will be willing to spend their time with you. Just make sure that this person isn't hunkered down at a school that wants to steer you to short sighted success. If these are the kinds of people that are available, ask them to recommend someone in the community.

A lot of the best young runners have developed with this system. A young motivated runner and an old wise coach that understands what is really important.

This guy. That's who you want to emulate.

Mr. Battery wrote:

work on your form till its perfect, run lots of miles. Just my $0.02 cents. Not that I would know what it takes but I'm guessing.

$.02 means 2 cents. adding cents makes it retardedly redundant. Just my 2 cents cents@@@@@@

Inb4 improper grammar