Elizabeth Leachman, 2024 Season results

Great times, but I'd question her coach's judgement. It doesn't look like she took much downtime after XC and the volume of racing (especially with travel) is concerning. This doesn't look like a plan that works out well for an athlete's longevity.

I write this as someone that is rooting for her and hoping for her success, but there are some alarm bells going off in the background here.

First of all, this is a lot of racing. So Ritz raced a ton in high school? That doesn't make racing a ton now the right way to go. Ask Ritz now whether he thinks all that racing and super-high-intensity training he did as a teenager were actually the best thing for his long term development. He'll tell you no.

Second, I was at NXN. Just past the mile marker, Leachman runs by with a huge lead, and my buddy says, "She...doesn't look good." My other buddy replies with, "Out to fast." My first buddy says, "Yeah, but she also just doesn't look...healthy." Addy Ritzenhein and the other girl from CO that formed the two person chase pack that eventually ran her down go by, and he says, "Now they look healthy."

Look, a lot goes in to performance and development, and I'm sitting behind a keyboard a thousand miles away. None of this is definitive. I appreciate her talent and toughness, and her performances for her whole sophomore year have been incredible. I hope its all being done in a way that best sets her up to the the next great US distance Olympian. I'm just a bit apprehensive.

She only runs a 2:13 800?

Just want to formally submit this bit of information to the thread from the formal announcement made by Gatorade announcing her as the Texas Cross Country Player of the Year:

"ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Leachman has maintained an A-plus average in the classroom."

I think its time we all contact the Johnson's by email or phone and tell them to ban this jackass who is continuously trying to spread malicious lies about a teenage girl through their site. Otherwise you can make all the new threads you want about her accomplishments and they will all be filled with his garbage.

You guys created this new thread thinking what…?

Travel is an additional stressor, and can take an unexpected toll. The consistent 3200’s might almost be like workouts for her.

Actually, only one of these races (Millrose Games) was outside Texas.

And several of the races were actually at her high school's track. Very little travel involved.

The 3200's aren't "almost like" a workout. They are in fact a workout.

She likes being with her team, but she also needs to train. So she goes to all of her team's meets and runs her workouts in the races.

Her only travel was to New York for the Millrose Games. And then to New York again for Nike Nationals in 2 weeks. That's only twice.

Her 2:13 PR was run 30 minutes after running a 3200 in 9:46.

But in any case, she doesn't have much leg speed. Maybe she can run a 2:11, but the 800 is clearly not her best event.

Even a mile is short for her. She is a 3200/5k runner.