So when I was 12 I was very skinny and decided to enter an athletics competition where I ran 800m in 2:40 off of 0 training. I hated how hard it was so I didn’t do any more but today at 19 years old I’m still skinny and run the 5k in about 21 min. If I would’ve ran a 5k back then at 12 years old instead of 800m would I beat my current self?
Maybe. But at 12 years old a 800 is hard to calculate a 5k from. Especially at 0 training, since a 12 year old probably won't have that much endurance and will fade in the latter stages of a 5k.
12 year old you probably would not have beaten present day you in a 5k with 0 training. However, if 12 year old you trained for one season as a middle schooler (two months at 15-20 miles per week), then 12 year old would certainly beat present day you. If present day you trained at 15-20 mpw, then '2-months-in-the-future' you would also beat present day you.
It's very unlikely you'd have beaten your current self. Endurance generally takes longer to develop than sprint speed. At age 12 you'd have likely struggled to even finish a 5K, very good chance you would've been walking by the end.
Okay yeah I think the endurance wouldn’t be there, it does make me wish I did actually start running back then because I had some talent, and by now I’d be well under 18 mins. Where as I’ve just started running at 19 and I can only just break 21.
You are still soooo young and have plenty of time to achieve lots of things.
Start being consistent now and trust the process.
I would guess yes.
I ran similarly and did 18: in a 5k around the same age.
the old one wrote:
You are still soooo young and have plenty of time to achieve lots of things.
Start being consistent now and trust the process.
2:40 for an 800m roughly converts to around 19:15 for a 5km if you're doing some consistent training. Given you were only 12 years old however, I would definitely agree on some of the earlier comments that you would have lacked the endurance, especially given you had zero training. I would predict a bit of a slower time than your current 21min. May 23min or so..
It's really hard to tell. It's much easier to do an 800m with no fitness than a 5K. At 12 years old a 2:40 5K isn't half bad though. 21 minute 5K as a 19 year old is awful though (no offense lol)
I ran just under 2:40 for the 800 in my freshman year of high school. (Came in DFL). My 5k at the time was around 25-26 minutes. By the time I could run a 5km in 21 minutes in the next season my 800 time was down around 2:20