13.9 for 100m - what potential?

this is basically impossible to predict

hope he has good genes and reacts well to training

Honestly, you can't say anything based on a 13-yr-old's time, unless it's already something phenomenal. At that age, and even through high school, it's a hormonal arms race. The kids that are further along in puberty dominate the kids who are developing more slowly. Scholarships all go to the early puberty-kids. But this says nothing about ultimate potential. The important thing is that your kid is excited about running, and that it's a great sport and a very healthy activity. Encourage the hell out of him! But you may also try to interest him in the long sprints, such as the 400, just in case the 100 isn't really his future.

Tell him to move up in distance.

The problem is you never know what a person can amount to.

Development into a great distance runner/sprinter runner is all determined by:

Nutrition, what you put in the body

Physical Health, how much sleep/rest you get, the efforts you put in your workouts, how much you exercise, what kind of workouts you use

and last but not least, Genetics

Clearly you can see that as a major factor, all 3 can be quite significant in their own right. Someone with much better genetics may not necessarily beat someone who watches what they eat and exercises more.

With that said, it's all up to how your kid handles each one of these categories.

Bad News: You're right, there are a lot of kids better, and its will become a lot less fun as he keeps getting beat.

Good News: Coming from a soccer background, and not already showing good sprint speed, he is probably a better endurance guy. I was in the exact same situation and moved to 400 as a middle schooler - which was an a bit more endurance oriented at that age - then up to 800 throughout high school. I ended up running in college and eventually made varsity cross country. Running is a journey, don't sell him short by plugging him into a certain event so early. Encourage him to have fun, but getting to be good at something isn't about enjoying yourself all the time.

I also ran a 13.9 in the 100m at age 13 (8th grade), and I was only the 5th fastest guy on my junior high sprint team.

Now all of those kids that beat me are flipping my burgers when I treat myself to fast food once in a while.. and my 400 time is now almost 11 seconds faster than any of them ever ran.

Point of this story is, it's too early to tell, and the best performers often don't show up until 10th or 11th grade. Often, it can be a good sign if your son isn't dominating so soon because he isn't developing too quickly.

thanks for your replies - i too think he probably has more potential at longer distances but wonder if it would benefi doing sprint drills and stuff for a year or two.

sounds like he has sub 2:05 marathon potential.

Just let him do whatever event he enjoys

Times, potential all that are irrelevant. Only one thing matters - not getting bored and giving up

ukathleticscoach wrote:

Just let him do whatever event he enjoys

Times, potential all that are irrelevant. Only one thing matters - not getting bored and giving up

...which is a very real possibility if you start dragging him to summer track meets and forcing him to do intense sprint training. Why not let him continue to play soccer, and maybe occasionally ask him if he wants to go for a jog with you.

Pick up Better Training for Distance Runners by Coe and Martin. It has a nice table of times of Seb Coe (100 - 1500m) from when he was 13 to 18. Pg 222.

My son is in 8th grade ran a 12.8 today and got 3rd place which is much better than last yr but it all comes down to how much they want to work at it tbh he isn’t happy with where he is rn so he will continue to put in work. With that said he is having a blast so basically it’s to early to tell anything at this point. Best of luck to your kid

My son is no longer amogus