How Amazing is 18:43 5K for an 11-Year Old Girl?

short course... the likelihood a pack of 11-13 yr old miami girls running in the 17:00-18:00 range... myth busted. perspective- shalane flanagan ran 17 minutes on franklin parks (boston) 5k xc as a highschool senior (may be the state record- or lynn jennings has it). that florida course is either short or really downhill.

those girls are like 70-80 lbs right now. by the time the're 16 after puberty they'll be at least over 100

Those are very good times. Nicole Carpio was 4th in the Florida state champs (div 2a). She is quick.

http://www.dyestat.com//?pg=reg22007CrossCountryFLStateMeetGirls-Results#2

The 11-year old has got to be quite fast too. Though you never know how much she will progress. It's more common for girls to run really fast times at younger ages than it is for boys....something about strength to weight ratio...

Nope, course was dead-on accurate. Not even sure if this is her fastest time. This Miami Milers group has 11-14 year old girls running 17:30-19:30 week in and week out. Perhaps I can find a faster time for that girl, but they are definitely amazing.

Carpio got 4th at State this year as an 8th grader, and her teammate, a 7th grader, got 5th!!! Both ran 18:40's.

I agree that it's easier for girls at that age to run hard and fast. When I was that age, I barely weighed 65 lbs. Then puberty hit and I slowed down. It's sort of sad. My hitting puberty turned me off running for years.

It's true that all girls run faster when they are pre-teen and that weight gain destroys their running. That is why all the Olympic medalistes in the distance events are 12 years old and 75 pounds.

11 year old girls are similar to 11 year old boys in terms of hormones. Wait until these girls mature a little bit, and most of them will either slow down or not get any faster.

tincan wrote:

11 year old girls are similar to 11 year old boys in terms of hormones. Wait until these girls mature a little bit, and most of them will either slow down or not get any faster.

Right, as I said before that's why all the fastest times come from 11 year olds and not women in their mid twenties.

we she starts to grow she'll slow down. i bet she is a whisp of a girl right now. wait until she puts on some weight, i bet you her muscle won't develop at same rate

The single-age record for an 11yr old is by Lindsey Sherf (of Harvard fame) ran 17:45 at the Moonlight Run in New Milford, CT in May, 1998.

Jordan Hasay has gone 16:49 as a 13yr old in 2004.

They have not made the 11 year old girl that can beat me.

Bring them on.

derek c wrote:

It's true that all girls run faster when they are pre-teen and that weight gain destroys their running. That is why all the Olympic medalistes in the distance events are 12 years old and 75 pounds.

What Olympic medalist in the distance events are 12 years old?

Are you on crack?

that's so sick

That was sarcasm.... Anyway, most of those young girls will not stay that fast unless they can maintain their body shapes in a way that simulates a 12-year-old, 75 pound girl. Most, if not all, elite female runners are skinny and no longer menstruate, just like when they were 12.

Hey Derek C, I'm just curious, how many girls do you know who had success in running at a young age and continued to get faster all throughout high school and college? They're far less common than the girls who run well at a young age and then slowly get worse as they get into HS and college. Olympians and world record holders are exceptions in every sense of the word, including the getting faster as they get older sense. Get a clue.

derek c wrote:

tincan wrote:

11 year old girls are similar to 11 year old boys in terms of hormones. Wait until these girls mature a little bit, and most of them will either slow down or not get any faster.

Right, as I said before that's why all the fastest times come from 11 year olds and not women in their mid twenties.

Ok Derek, we get your sarcastic point. The fastest times do ultimately do come from women in their mid-twenties. The sad truth is that for a significant proportion of young girls, they can be successful in that 11-14 age range with modest training. There are alot of 9th grade stars in distance running. Then when their bodies change at 14-15, their progress stops, or they go backwards. Many work through this and ultimately become better runners. For alot of high school age runners however, they find themselves having to train harder and harder to reach the same level of performance. Add to the body change other "female" health issues such as iron deficiency and you find that young women runners often have a number of obstacles to overcome at a very early stage of their running careers.

We all have had to overcome injuries etc that set back our running. It's entirely different though when go backwards because your body is doing what it was designed to do. And for obvious reasons, you don't want to be asking a 16 year old girl how much weight she gained between cross country and track.

A freshman boy by comparison comes in and usually can't compete against the more mature upperclassman. If he is motivated and trains hard, assisted by his natural maturation process, he will be rewarded with better performances throughout his high school career.

So how do we ensure that every 13 year old that makes varsity her freshman year continues to run successfully through high school and college? I think that some of the responses to this thread imply that these 11-12 year olds are going to be "burned out" by the time they reach high school. I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't just let the 11-14 year olds run to the best of their ability and accept the fact that not all of them are genetically/psychologically predisposed to having a "successful" long term running career. Maybe we should be happy they have been exposed to running and hope they continue running even if they choose not to compete.

In the long run, it seems that it is coaches and parents that are most disappointed when their talented young runners fade away too early.

And if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm the father of a 16 year old former runner. And we're both fine with that.

Girls get slower because they lose interest which is ok. Running is not the be all/end all many of you think it is. The ones that stay involved in the sport and increase their training as the years go on, get faster. There are just as many male burnouts as females. It is not a gender thing it's a youth turning into young adult thing. Kids often find lives outside of running and thus move on. Look at the 11 year old record holder - Sherf. She is faster now than she was at 11. I can't believe anyone needs to be told that any person - girl or boy - has more physical potential at 21 than 11.

derek c wrote:

Girls get slower because they lose interest which is ok.

Don't agree. Case in point in Illinois this fall. Geneva won the girls 3A (largest schools) cross country. Top five girls on that team are ALL freshmen. I doubt that has ever happened in a boys state meet. They don't lose interest, their bodies change. It will be interesting to see what happens with that team over the next three years.

Nice post TJM. I'm sure its been discussed to death, but bottom line is that distance running can be a treacherous sport for girls. Eating disorders, menstrual issues, the stress of changing body shape is bad enough without having to worry about it destroying your running career. The female triad leads to fractures that can destroy a running career and scar a girl for life. I don't mean to be dramatic, but personally I think hs coaches should tone the sport down for girls rather than ramp it up, as they have been in the last 10 years. Leave their intense athletic development for college and beyond.