With optimized training, can most men break 13 seconds in the 100 meter dash?

No.

what do you think the average would be? at my high school, the average joe on the track team ran a 12.67 in the 100m. that's the average. Out of seniors that number goes up to 12.04 (13.19 for the freshman). What makes you think a fit average guy can't do it?

What do you mean with specialised sprint training? The average American male can run sub 13 off the couch. Sub 10.5 with training.

Well, most human males have a top end speed of 15 mph +\-, which can be improved a bit with training, but even then, someone who maxes out at 15 mph isn’t breaking 15 in an FAT 100m.

I’d say most in the athletic demographic (played a varsity sport in highschool, been involved in athletics most of their childhood, etc.) have a good shot at it, but you’d need slightly above average genetics to run sub 13.

If you have an average start I’d imagine you’d need to top out at 18-19 mph to get the job done, and more than half of people don’t have the capacity to do that.

interesting. I've gone over 19mph in some runs even going as high as 20-21. My start is terrible (10 yard split of 2.25 in the 40) which is why I've never broken 13.5.

also, i was the slowest person on the cross country team. I couldn't break 8 minutes in the mile until I was 14, and 7 minutes until I was 15. My first 5k ever I believe was a 25 flat. Senior year I ran a 19:45. I've run 200m FAT in slightly under 28 (27.8) seconds after being the slowest person in my high school (including the girls) and this is without any specified sprint training just goofing around signing up for a fun track meet. The one time I decided to sprint the coach did 150m to 300m sprint trials. I ran the 150 in 22 seconds flat (I was 15) and the 300m in 50 flat, which was by far the slowest guy on the team.

I wouldn't consider my genetics above average (below actually) . (5'9 143 lbs 17% bf Chinese guy), and even a guy like me could break 15 with ease.

maybe i might be just a late bloomer, but i was always the least athletic kid in gym until i turned 16

Youth track clubs should function in a similar manner to youth swimming clubs. Youth male swimmers need to learn how to swim 50 yards freestyle sub-30 seconds with good form; youth female swimmers need to learn how to swim 50 yards freestyle sub-33 seconds with good form.

I would love to see youth track & field in U.S. show every male how to sprint 200m sub-30 seconds with good form; I would love to see youth T&F in U.S. show every female how to sprint 200m sub-33 seconds with good form.

I don't see the point trying to teach 20 to 30 year old males like O.P. how to sprint sub-13 100m.

What was your method of measurement for your 20-21 mph figure? GPS won’t measure top end speed well regardless of the watch you have.

As I said earlier, I’ve seen your Reddit posts and nothing on there would indicate a top end speed of over 20 mph just by eyeing it (so I could be wrong). I’d guess your top end to be around 18ish which is better than average. If you could hit 21 I don’t think a sub 12 let alone a 13 would be a big issue for you.

I have a fairly accurate gps watch that has measured me hitting 26 mph, which is not accurate, I measurably top out at a bit less than 23. With that speed I don’t have too much issue running about 11.2 with an abysmal start (I’m not a sprinter and haven’t put much work into starting out of blocks) and a good bit under 11 with a running start.

I was also a terrible starter. I would get beat by girls in the 50 yard dash in elementary, but I got first place for the entire school in the mile. I never looked back at sprinting.

I don’t think I could break 13 with 2 years of training. Definitely not at 44, but probably not at 24 either.

Keep in mind that sprints are a relatively self-selecting group.

I once hit 2:45 pace as my top speed, which is a little under 22 mph. However, my start is horrible so I can't get <12.

If you take basketball/football/soccer players and train them to sprint, they should be able to break 13 easily. Also remember that the average American is overweight or obese

probably not...survival of the fittest has not really fully played out thanks to modern technology/society...there are a lot of weak/uncoordinated people out there. maybe if were still caveman.

You just want to hear some affirmation for your modest achievement. Quit worrying about what others can do. Do your training and have fun.

yeah the GPS said I hit 20 2 or 3 times, but usually it tops out around 19.5 or so. I've stopped using the GPS once it said I went faster than usain bolt (34mph? wtf?), I quit using strava for sprints and turned to slow mo video 16x slower, took times on a track with 10 yard marks, and divided the number by 16 (also slo motioned it to analyze my form). Here are my results:

My best 10 yard split out of 5 40 yard dashes was around 1.13 seconds which is around 19.5 miles per hour per this link.

freelapusa.com

Split to Velocity Conversion Table - Freelap USA

Carl Valle

Convert 10 yard splits times to meters per second.

Open link

The one on reddit topped out at 19.2 mph at 36 yards after intense slow motion analysis. After this I slowed to 18.7 at the finish (a bad habit, I know). Trying to work on my start.

Anyways, do you think I can improve my top end speed? I never lift/work on explosiveness so maybe that will help. Can't be certain though.

suprisingly i was better at swimming than running. not great, but i did manage a 24/56 in the 50/100 free

wow it's a personal goal. why try to attack me like that? I never did track when I was younger, until age 15 where I sprinted for 4 weeks before my mom told me it was useless and I dropped out. Why is it so bad I want to learn now?

what was your best mile?

I was one of those weak uncoordinated nearsighted east asians. that's why i really wanted to break away from that stereotype by proving to myself as the opposite.

I was always stereotyped as an unathletic unattractive autistic nerd who's bad with women and the slowest on the team. I'm sick of being another Asian geek who can't run fast, look good, or talk to women at all. I'm honestly sick of being viewed as a side thought. II want to prove to myself I can escape this stereotype and get better.