I would like to know if anyone made a huge improvement from freshman to sophomore year in high school XC. What was the improvement (5k PR freshman to 5k PR sophomore)? What did you do (offseason/summer training specifically) to prompt this improvement jump?
I didn't run XC freshmen or sophomore year but I joined Junior year and ran a n 18:47 by the end of the season. Senior year I ran 17:05. I would say just keep consistent mileage. Run consistently year-round too. In the summer I did about 50 mpw with some doubles.
Not specific to yours but joined XC sophomore year and started running. Ended at 18:3x that year. Junior year I trained a little more but nothing special (maybe averaged 25 mpw in the summer). I got injured most of that season but managed to get to 17:3x. Going into senior season I started training right as the pandemic killed track and soccer. Averaged 50-60 mpw all the way from March to a few weeks into August. So far I've run 15:5x and still have 3 meets left. My advice is run lots of base (as much as you can safely) in the summer, do all the little things right (hydrate, stretch, roll, etc) and you'll see big improvements.
Good luck!
Also, one of the most important things is to run as much as you can on natural surfaces. Asphalt and concrete are quick ways to get injured, especially when jumping in mileage.
I ran a TT after summer training freshmen year and ran close to a 19 3 mile. (Got a fat cramp.) Then 3-4 months later ran a 16:19 3 mile and 16:36 5k, but I was still slow in my area.
Was junior to senior year for me, but the following principle still applies. At especially the high school level, what matters most is consistency. A lot of kids think a big summer of 70 miles a week like the kids at the private school are doing is what's going to get them to the next level, but it's really just about putting in mileage. More runs completed is more important than more miles done at this stage.
I didn't run a ton in high school. Very little before freshman year, very little during, and very little after. Same with sophomore year, only I started to run more in-season, and improved a bit as a result. Had some natural talent too. Going into junior year I ran a little bit and improved a little bit. Going into senior year, I still ran a little bit, but I was running at least 6 days a week and playing with speed and hills. Having that jump on my senior year of training along with a coaching change got me to a few state meet finals.
I coach a kid who ran 19 minutes last year and 16:40 this year. He did the same summer training and identical in season training.
I know this isn’t exactly what you asked, but my freshman year my 3200 PR was 12:22. I am a senior now and ran 15:52 for a 5k XC this season.
I went from 30:36 to 19:27 9-10
I ran a lot of summer mileage, stopped being a little complaining b***h, and lost about 20 lbs.
I finished highschool with a 16:07 pb
Freshmen year: 21:41 first meet and 20:36 season's best.
Then I ran all winter just easy and did a 5k the week after track season ended in 19:39. Then a week after school ended I did my first 10k (42:56), and .et a couple college runners that gave me advice. They mentioned tempos, fartleks, and long runs. I never heard of any of them before and thought at the time that running longer than 60 minutes was bad for your health.
Sophomore year: 18:21 first meet and 17:44 season's best thanks to a summer of 90 minute long runs a weekly tempo and occasional fartlek for 45 mpw (up from 25 mpw freshmen xc and 30-35 mpw freshmen winter and track).
First race of my freshman year I ran 19:3x. Finished the season running 18:10. Sophomore year I opened with an 18:00 and finished at 16:48. It wasn't really much of a bump in summer training but I did have a very extended track season. Had another big jump from junior to senior year going from 16:40 to 15:59 but that one was attributed to a lot more consistency in my mileage
Context - ran 10:4x 3000 and 5:0x 1500 at 12 years old. Never lost in AAU track besides JR olympics
I didn't train during the summer and I was still a prepubescent kid. Ran my first and only race of my freshman year in trainers and 100 degree heat.
freshman year - 19:1-, 1600 - 5:29
Ran 150 miles over 11 weeks during the summer and didn't really care. Took it a little harder during the season. Ran 20-25 miles per week in the winter. Was still scrawny
Sophomore year - 17:4x (made state) 1600 - 4:46 3200: 10:2x
Ran 400 miles over the summer. track - covid. Also was injured for 6 months
Junior year - 16:21 (state placer)
Ran 300 miles over the summer and crosstraining. Avg. 42-44 MPW in season. Balls dropped
SR year so far: 15:3x, looking to win state.