I have all the traits of a good runner but im not

How old are you?

17

Don’t be so quick to label yourself. You’re young. You’re at the beginning of this journey.

You might be more a 400m/800m type.

That V02 max is not particularly high, but you have good speed.

Even though you have a light build, you could still have predominantly fast twitch muscle fiber.

Do you eat burritos?

Those aren't "all" the traits of a good runner.

Without doing a muscle biopsy, you wouldn't be able to tell us what your mitochondrial density is in the muscle cell. This is likely one of the most important traits of a good runner. Some are born with a lot of mitochondrial volume that functions well, but most have to do lots of training to acquire these traits.

The good news is, at roughly 30mpw, you're barely training; and yet you've run well above average times.

Keep gradually increasing your mileage and include threshold training in your program. You obviously don't need to focus a lot on the anaerobic/speed side of things with low-12 speed, so devote more of your energy to volume and improving your threshold.

bump

Thing is (and I haven’t run a 400m in a while so I’m not sure) I feel like I’m too weak and thin to get around the track quick. Like I can rip a quick 100m but I fall off after that, and even if I could hold that it would still only be like just under 49s which isn’t like crazy speed.

Iron of 10-20 range is incredibly low and is preventing you from being able to train more. over 90% of runners college and pros are taking iron supplements they are basically madatory.

Also you're incredibly short sighted if you train more you will get better

Trainability and durability are also unseen talents. 30 mpw is nothing compared to what you could do in the future if you slowly build and become a stronger runner. Believe in yourself and keep grinding.

You may need to train your slow twitch fibers more. Some people also have ACE dd meaning they will have to spend more time building their capillaries. There are a myriad of possible reasons.

You mention iron. 80% of Tour de France cyclists have an mutation leading to higher iron. But people without that mutation can get the same effect. It means that most of the talented people stop cycling before going competitive because they dont take iron.

You are 17 and I am 60. Let an old runner tell you that you can have a lot of running in front of you and all kinds of other things if you are open to it.

With 17 you are just starting to see the world with your own eyes.
Don't define yourself by your vo2 max alone. I don't even know mine.

if start running 60 miles a week and taking liquid iron daily I guarantee you will break 4:40 in a year

You need 💯 MPW.

I wouldn’t even bother with real tests with blood lactate or biopsy until you have a vo2max in the 70’s

A 49 second 400 for a rather lightly trained 17 year old is quite impressive.

Yup, for reference, that would have been kind of close to the school record (definitely in the top-5 all time) at my high school at the time I was there. The school had been open for about 20 years and had an enrollment of about 1600 students.

I'm kind of the opposite. I have none of the traits of a good runner - I'm fat, asthmatic, bow-legged, at least 57 years and also very lazy - but whenever I try to jog a 5k I end up under 15 minutes. Is there anything I can do to slow down?