Track

You may get marginally better as you get older, but unless you develop a gut-burning desire to work your tail off and become willing to make sacrifices necessary to become successful (not just at running, but anything in life), then you will have a a very unsuccessful career. Guys that you are beating now will probably figure out that all they have to do in high school is work harder than you and they will soon be able to not only beat you, but also not even realize you are in the race.

young man-

I don't want to put you down if this is a serious post, but get real. What do you mean you want to be the best around but you don't want to work? You must not really want to be the best around, or else you are just dumb. Join the chess club if you don't like working out. The only way you'll become a better runner is if you change your attitude. Otherwise, you'll be getting stomped on by the guys who are doing the work. Get some friends who will run with you and get into a routine. I think once you see some results, you'll start to like training a lot more.

Okay I know that this is hard to see but I am a girl and I ran faster than 11:08 in high school that if you wanna be the best around you need to get going at least run 30 miles a week it isn't that taxing and you will get a lot better.

As a freshman you aren't going to be the best around. Even if you did work your ass off there are going to be some older kids who have been training for years more than you that will have an edge on you. Running is a sport that takes a huge comittment. If you truely want to be the best you can be, you're going to have to put in the work. It's great that you like racing, but you aren't going to like it too much if you get your arse kicked everytime you step out on to the track.

We need more information.... start with gender.

talent scout- how many 8th grade girls do you think run 11:00 off of 10 miles per week? I think you can safely assume we're talking to a guy.

Worker,

I shared your same presumption initially. However, the phrase, "I want to be the best around in the 3200 in the spring. I ran 11:02 in the 8th grade" made it questionable enough for me to inquire.

On the one hand, 11:02 off of 10m seems like a guy. However, such an individual would be extremely naive to be thinking that he could be the best around without a huge change in work ethic/attitude. Maybe, his definition of around is something akin to around the block, or in the whole neighborhood.

If, we are talking to girl, then, you are right, there are not many. But, clearly, she would have a legitmate shot at "be(ing) the best around" by next Spring. In this case, she could have been one of those people that counts miles funny... like only the quality miles.

In my opinion, either scenario is unlikely, but possible. Since, the girl would be put in a better light, I choose to believe that this person is a girl until I hear otherwise.

I'm a guy. In the 7th grade I ran 13:32. In the 8th grade 11:02. Didn't do any more training in 8th. Why can't I improve another minute next year with the same training? I'm sure I will just have to do whatever the coach says. By best around, I mean the best high school 3200 runner in my area. Last year a senior won the conference meet in 10:14, and he won by at least 15 seconds. That's less than a minute faster than what I run now.

I hope you are right that I will like training more if I start winning more. In 8th grade, I won all the time, but I sucked in practice. Coach thought I wasn't trying hard enough in practice, but for some reason it was hard to get excited about it when it wasn't a real race. I was still sweating and breathing hard, and those 400s are hard. There's something about being in a race that makes me much faster. I'm just not as fast as some of the other guys when we go 400. In the 3200 though, they can't touch me. The furthest I've ever run at once is 4 miles. I've only run about 3 times a day since school ended, and only 2-3 miles each time, but no 400s.

11:08 in 8th grade is quite a bit of talent. Nothing out of the ordinary, but quite a bit above average. However just assuming that you'll just get faster without stepping up your training is quite unwise. And taking off another minute this next year with the same training is not a gauruntee, or even likely. Your time improvement between 7th and 8th grade was likely due to puberty, and that will probably be slowing. Also, you'll notice that its harder and harder to cut time the faster you get. Basically, in this sport if you want to be anywhere near your potential you need to work really hard. And I'm not just some 40 year old guy complaining about how kids these days don't work hard. Four years ago I was your age. I was just some 14 year old kid going into his freshmen year. I wasn't as fast as you were, but people told me I could do alot if I only worked hard. Well, I did, and except for a senior year that was plaugued by illness and injury, I think I was quite sucessful. So my advice is to either run cross country in the fall or play soccer, and then definitely run in the winter. This is a sport of guts, but not just on raceday.

Quit being a pussy and get your ass out there and train.

If you want to be the best you are going to have to work for it. Nothing is going to be handed to you.

Freshman Runner,

Please accept my apologies for mistaking you as a girl. I do believe you can see the writing on the wall... if you want to be amongst the best (in quick succession..first at your school, then in your area, then in your state, then in all of HS, then collegiately), you're going to need to change your slacker ways. Otherwise, I would expect that you'll get whipped by many girls in the nearterm future.

If you want to train like that(10 miles a week), you're not going to get much better, you may get down to 10:20 to 10:30 with age. If you are lucky you may drop a minute in a few years.

YOu know what ten flat get you. CRAP, it is respectable, but honestly, the best girls in the country run that.

If you truely ran what you said you did off of 10 miles a week you could be a tremendous talent if you work at it.

Training runs don't have to be hard, just put some headphones on and run for 30-40 minutes a day. Do 1 hard run a week and 1 long run a week. As a freshman 30 miles a week will do you wonders.

If you don't work at it, guys who you are beating now will absolutely own you in a few years. But my guess is you will quit by then if you don't make the commmittment.

Answer - Well, lets not get too excited. 10 flat for a girl is outrageously talented. Didn't whatshername run 10:01 to set a national record last year? I know I say I have the answers (hence the name Answer Man) but I just don't care about girls running any where near as much, so I forgot her name.

Why did our coach run us into the ground with 400s 4 days a week? Here's what we would do:

1 mile warm up

10 400s in 75-80

half mile cool down

4 days a week. I almost never ran on the weekend because he made me hate it so much. I like the pain from the distance running, but not the 400 meter stuff. Maybe my high school coach will be different.

Of course you will get better... AT STINKING UP THE JOINT!

Answer Man,

You usually do a fair job, but you sort of missed this one. It turns out that Freshman Runner is a guy (see above). Obviously, though, I can se how you made the same mistake (since the times we are speaking of are equivalent to really good HS female times).

If you did that work out four days a week and nothing more, that's 16 miles a week... more than the ten you originally said.

Be nice american he is just a kid.

H.S. will be a lot better. Those 400's

can hurt! I quite as a 9th grader because

coach had us running stairs 24/7 I hated that

I came back as a 10th grader and ran a 2:02 800m

My whole mindset changed!