My son graduated in 2022. I bought him a pair of New Balance spikes on clearance for $60. He ran 4:16/9:05. Many kids were not wearing the spikes in 2021.
On and Under Armour runners made huge improvements wearing their new spikes that did not exist until recently. They took what Nike invented and improved upon it.
My son graduated in 2022. I bought him a pair of New Balance spikes on clearance for $60. He ran 4:16/9:05. Many kids were not wearing the spikes in 2021.
Ok, shoes are still getting better and more people are wearing them in 2024 than in 2023 (certainly more than in 2022).
BTW: why was your son not wearing them in 2022? Didn’t that hurt his chances of getting a good scholarship? You are on LR, so you have knowledge of T&F…. No offence, but it seems like a bad investment decision
He doesn't run in college. He decided junior year that he would finish out senior year and hang it up. He also was a very low mileage kid doing the bare minimum. He ran 4:18/9:17 junior year and got very little interest from coaches which turned him off. Some D3 coaches were excited to talk to him but nearly no D1 coaches responded to his requests.
Half way through his HS career, Owen Powells great performance is only five seconds faster than his dad's 2M equivalent, and is still a second or two slower than Andys 4:02 mile. Doesn't exactly scream "doping" in my book.
He doesn't run in college. He decided junior year that he would finish out senior year and hang it up. He also was a very low mileage kid doing the bare minimum. He ran 4:18/9:17 junior year and got very little interest from coaches which turned him off. Some D3 coaches were excited to talk to him but nearly no D1 coaches responded to his requests.
He would have had no problem running in college. I coached a boy that was 922/426 and he currently runs for an team in the SEC.
Patrick Koon ran 8:44.95 for 7th last year; his 8:41.46 was good for 14th! this year. Crazy.
8:45 is the new 9:00
In 2018, Drew Bosley ran 9:59.04 for 16th. 17th was Strangio in 9:00.2. Further back was Dylan Jacobs, who was a senior at the time, in 9:06 for 23rd.
If 16 went sub-8:50 this year, 16 went sub-9 in 2018, wouldn't 8:50 be the new 9:00? In 2018, no one went under 8:50. Does that mean 8:34 is the new 8:50?
I don't think shoes are the main factor to the depth at this race. The winning times the last 3 years have been right around 8:34, and the shoes have been around that entire time. There are just more kids receiving high quality coaching, and more kids doing the little things.
No SEC coach responded. He has a teammate who was a bit faster who walked on at Ole Miss amd wasn't top 10 in XC and is frustrated that he didn't travel.
In 2018, Drew Bosley ran 9:59.04 for 16th. 17th was Strangio in 9:00.2. Further back was Dylan Jacobs, who was a senior at the time, in 9:06 for 23rd.
If 16 went sub-8:50 this year, 16 went sub-9 in 2018, wouldn't 8:50 be the new 9:00? In 2018, no one went under 8:50. Does that mean 8:34 is the new 8:50?
I don't think shoes are the main factor to the depth at this race. The winning times the last 3 years have been right around 8:34, and the shoes have been around that entire time. There are just more kids receiving high quality coaching, and more kids doing the little things.
Without the necessary talent, neither coaching, or the little things, will allow a kid to run sub-8:50. I believe the emergence of middle school XC and track, is attracting more of the most talented kids to our sport.
I see a ton of talented age groupers around my town. I think that the combination of covid and the Internet/social media (including NIL.for top talent) has created a melange hybrid environment with benefits of both school and club systems.
He doesn't run in college. He decided junior year that he would finish out senior year and hang it up. He also was a very low mileage kid doing the bare minimum. He ran 4:18/9:17 junior year and got very little interest from coaches which turned him off. Some D3 coaches were excited to talk to him but nearly no D1 coaches responded to his requests.
Do you think that he may have had more interest from D1 coaches if he ran 9:02 as a junior (with supershoes) rather than 9:17?
I was at Arcadia and what was impressive wasn’t the times, it’s how competitive all these guys were with one another/ in years past there would be gaps forming. However, everyone was throwing elbows with the likes of Simmons, Neil, Jourdan, Griffith. Shoes obviously have provided the tech advantage but the training and racing game has picked up even more o my book for so much parity because in footwear all things are now equal again.
I was at Arcadia and what was impressive wasn’t the times, it’s how competitive all these guys were with one another/ in years past there would be gaps forming. However, everyone was throwing elbows with the likes of Simmons, Neil, Jourdan, Griffith. Shoes obviously have provided the tech advantage but the training and racing game has picked up even more o my book for so much parity because in footwear all things are now equal again.
They crossed the 1600m in 4:23. The entire field (save one) had the ability to go out in 4:23. By the time you got to the end of the pack, that was 4:26. That’s only an 8:52 pace.
For some reason this race went out super slow. Nobody wanted to lead it out.
So it’s probably the opposite of what you are saying.