Female high school runners who run over 40 mpw

I'm not trying to sound like an ass, but most HS runners, especially girls, have no idea what it takes to reach their potential, nor do they care. Most girls at the high school level care more about the social aspect of the sport than actually performing. Many girls are better than most not because they're good runners, but more because their competition is so pathetic.

My high school team was this way both on the boys and girls side. Some stupid slapdick who cut every run and jacked around during workouts could still finish in the middle of JV races. Most high school runners are just terrible.

You'll find most elite HS girls run at least 40mpw though, with a decent number running over 50mpw.

wow... that's a pretty rough assessment. i was definitely not in it for the social aspect of the sport as a high schooler, but i wasn't any good at all until my junior year, simply because i had no idea what was "good" to do! you can't take a 14-year old who is new at the sport and expect him or her to immediately understand that higher mileage at a less than breakneck pace might be more beneficial than just hammering everyday. ...which is essentially what i did for my entire high school career.

it got me good enough to have a career-ending injury, though it wasn't clear that it would be such until after i had been recruited.

As a high school girl, I ran 50mpw my senior year. I was the only 1 out of nearly 100 girls on my XC team. But there may have been a second, she was always a little sneaky. So, rounding up, my sample suggests 2%.

You had 100 girls on your hs team?? What was the size of your school?

Inside the high school mind wrote:

As a high school girl, I ran 50mpw my senior year. I was the only 1 out of nearly 100 girls on my XC team. But there may have been a second, she was always a little sneaky. So, rounding up, my sample suggests 2%.

Of the girls I've coached over the years, I'd estimate 5 or so have run 40 somewhat consistently.

2 anorexic/OCD

1 loved to train

2 for social reasons, they just enjoyed being out for a run with teammates.

Only the 1 in the middle really trained more to race better. The rest never really saw a connection between training and performance.

not sure wrote:

Of the girls I've coached over the years, I'd estimate 5 or so have run 40 somewhat consistently.

2 anorexic/OCD

1 loved to train

2 for social reasons, they just enjoyed being out for a run with teammates.

Only the 1 in the middle really trained more to race better. The rest never really saw a connection between training and performance.

haha, this pretty much sums up 90% of people. I had an injury one year that put me out for over two weeks. I had two injuries at the same time leading up to xc one year that pretty much made cross training impossible. I came into the season out of shape and overweight. I was friends with my teammates and their parents and they knew that I hadn't been able to run for a while, yet they were still shocked that I wasn't winning races. They thought I was done and counted me out. As the season progressed and I got more fit, I ran faster and ended up winning state. Many of the people I talked to didn't understand what caused the turnaround, even though they knew the situation.

Like you said, some people don't understand there's a correlation between training and fitness. Truly bizarre.

As a coach who has seen large amounts of success with girls teams I must agree. For the most part the girls that have talent and are highly competitive are the 40 or so you see at footlocker. On the other hand there are probably 4000 boys with the same attitude.

Another factor: injuries. High School girlsare very fragile and will get hurt. It is a 4 year progression to get them to 40 mpw.

I can't imagine anyone who has posted so far has coached a championship girls team. In all the years I have coached, I have had one team that I couldn't get my varsity runners to run 40 + by their Junior year. I have over ten alumni competing in college right now. All ran over 40 in high school. If your girls won't run over 40, the problem is with you, not them.

Once upon a time wrote:

High School girlsare very fragile and will get hurt. It is a 4 year progression to get them to 40 mpw.

Maybe if they hammer all the time. I've seen plenty of girls get to 60mi/wk by their third year without serious injuries. And they're still putting on weight.

This thread would be humorous if it wasn't so sad.

40 miles a week. Please. That is only a small drop in the bucket.

And for the person who thinks women are fragile. Spend some time in the labor and delivery department at your local hospital. You'll quickly learn who the stronger sex is.

Flanagan - 100 miles a week

Dibaba - 100+ miles a week

Defar - 90-100 miles a week

Kastor - 110-120 miles a week

Radcliffe - 120+ miles a week

Ok now, notice anything?

I'd say to be great in high school would require most girls to do 60-70 per week.

Builidng up to 70-90 in college

and then 90-110 post collegiately.

As a high schooler, I won a state championship on 40 miles a week then upped to 55 the summer going into my senior year. I do agree with the fact that most high school girls don't know how to reach their full potential, but maybe thats a good thing because once those girls reach college and start putting in higher(90-100mpw)mileage, their bodies are more developed and able to handle it.

I consistantly ran about 40mpw in high school in my junior and senior years. Cross country wasn't very popular at my school, so we usually only had about 5-7 girls on the team. I was the only one that trained seriously and ran more than 10 mpw. The others were just out there because either they liked the social aspect or they just enjoyed running but didn't like to be competitive.

Once upon a time wrote:

As a coach who has seen large amounts of success with girls teams I must agree. For the most part the girls that have talent and are highly competitive are the 40 or so you see at footlocker. On the other hand there are probably 4000 boys with the same attitude.

Another factor: injuries. High School girlsare very fragile and will get hurt. It is a 4 year progression to get them to 40 mpw.

Oh my goodness, I could not disagree more. I, too, have had successful girls teams and my girls have been motivated, highly competitive, and hard working. There have, of course, been some injuries, but not many. These girls are tough and eager to achieve.

The most I ran my senior year of high school was 48 miles. After that, my body started to break down and I didn't race very competitively. I had more success with about 38 miles a week. My CC PR was 18:52. Not great, but it was competitive at States.

MC wrote:

I had more success with about 38 miles a week. My CC PR was 18:52. Not great.

Speaks volumes. 38 miles a week and not great. I know old fat guys who run more than that. Too bad you din't have a good coach who could help you train properly. Could have probably gone sub 18 on 50 miles a week properly executed.

I agree - 18:52 on about 38 miles/week is pretty solid for a girl in high school.

Look at that thread about the girl who is wanting to go over 60 mpw on doubles etc. That's work ethic. There are plenty of girls teams in California that are running 100 mpw or over. The Fountain Valley girls were running 135 mpw.

There are not "plenty" of girls teams in CA or any state that run 100 mpw plus. There wasn't a single girl at Footlocker who runs more than 80. Fountain Valley is a terrible example and even then it's just one insane week where everyone runs as much as possible. Their team doesn't average 80 for any significant amount of time. Girls are tough and I've coached girls as tough as the vast majority of guys but to say that many are running 100+ is stupid. FM averages 50+ and that seems to work.