Can an 18 year old male that can barely break 20 mins in the 5k ever make it to the Olympic marathon trials?

Yes.

It amazes me that anyone who actually ran competitively in college would say that this is not possible. Of course it's possible. Certainly not probable but as others have said it has been done.

People mature at different points. Not all humans are the same. Someone who is not physically mature in high school might not run fast in high school but might later in life.

Run a lot of miles... don't get injured.... put seasons together year after year.

Yes it can be done. And no doubt has been.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

Rhodium Nights wrote:

Couldn't agree more. Nothing more pathetic than people telling someone that it is impossible to do something; especially when that something has been done several times (see the names earlier in the thread).

How sad...negativity is a self-fulfilling prophecy!

"Several" times? The only example was Tyler Andrews. Although there was mention of Andrews not training seriously until late in college, he ran 15:10 as Sophomore. How did he improve from 18:30 to 15:10 while not training seriously?

You clearly haven't read the entire thread. I provided another example of a runner, Tyler Underwood, ig: tunderface, who ran a 4:2X marathon in his early 20s. That kind of performance is applicable to a runner not being able to break 20 minutes for a 5k.

He trained his a$$ off for several years and qualified in 2017 by running 2:18 at CIM.

There are probably several others. Not everyone is a high school phenom.

Look at Steve Way. He didn't start running until he was in his 30s!!!

PB: 2:15.

It's definitely possible. People just have small imaginations

Rhodium Nights wrote:

SDSU Aztec wrote:

"Several" times? The only example was Tyler Andrews. Although there was mention of Andrews not training seriously until late in college, he ran 15:10 as Sophomore. How did he improve from 18:30 to 15:10 while not training seriously?

You clearly haven't read the entire thread. I provided another example of a runner, Tyler Underwood, ig: tunderface, who ran a 4:2X marathon in his early 20s. That kind of performance is applicable to a runner not being able to break 20 minutes for a 5k.

He trained his a$$ off for several years and qualified in 2017 by running 2:18 at CIM.

There are probably several others. Not everyone is a high school phenom.

Look at Steve Way. He didn't start running until he was in his 30s!!!

PB: 2:15.

It's definitely possible. People just have small imaginations

Your examples having nothing to do with the OP's question. Underwood didn't run in HS or college and Steve Way didn't have a PR as an 18-year old. Maybe they could have both run 16:00 if they had competed in HS.

The examples should be people that made a reasonable effort to run as fast as possible in HS. Is Mark Nenow proof that 9:17 HS 2-milers can later run 27:20.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

Your examples having nothing to do with the OP's question. Underwood didn't run in HS or college and Steve Way didn't have a PR as an 18-year old.

These examples are tangentially related, even though they do not fall directly under the original poster's criteria.

"High schools in four-fifths of all rural districts had fewer than 100 students per grade".

It's possible for a teenager to be undermotivated with underfunded facilities without a strong running culture.

As soon as this person enters a real training program in college, his potential can be better developed.

There's no harm in aspiring to be a professional runner for a few years if the person has spare time and enjoys the sport.