Your 2-mile (or 3200m) debut

My first "race" was an XC time trial (HS soph) after two months of my coach's crappy training. I was unable to break 13 minutes. In the spring, after 3 months of my own, more reasonable training, I debuted at 11:25 (all distances full not metric), doubling back after a 4:59 mile (taking 1:35 off my mile debut in P.E. the previous fall). Ran 10:48 that season, went on to 10:01 my senior year, all on my own training, with limited resources of the '70's (no good raining books). I improved my pacing by senior year but even my 10:01 was on 4:55/5:03 splits.

I led wire to wire at a weekday tri-meet when I was a freshman. It was my first win. I can't remember what I ran, but I would guess it was mid to high 12s since I went around 5:40 in the 1600 that year. I improved quite a bit in high school (low 10, 4:40), and a LOT in college (sub 8:40 3k, sub 15 5k).

I got lapped by the winner in my first 3200. He was a senior and I was a freshman. When I was a senior, I matched his school record time.

I didn't race one until I was a sophomore in high school, because I was more of an 800m guy. I was coming off of wrestling so I was decently fit and I ran 10:52ish. I think I ran another in about the same time as a sophomore, and none as a junior, and a handful of them as a senior in 10:05-10:20 range. Best 3k in college was only 8:54.

My first 3200 was at a league meet sophomore year (didn't run track freshman year). Ran 10:59 there, and got to the 10:20s by the end of the season. High school isn't over yet but I'm a few seconds under 9:20 at the moment and believe I can crack 9:10. Believe in yourself, set big goals and let your dreams become reality!

Freshman year of high school... I ran the 800 all year, then my coach threw me in the 1600 a week before regions. Ran 4:51

At regions, he threw me in the 3200. We went out in 4:49, then I finished up in 10:03. It hurt-- bad.

Ended up breaking 9 in high school and then well under 9 in route to 5k eventually. Still, I don't think anything has hurt as bad as that first 3200 though!

My first 3200m race was actually a 3600m race. Exhibition meet my freshman year and I won pretty easily (no fast people in the race, and I wasn't exactly fast at all during high school), but I kept hearing people yelling "one more lap to go!" as I was coming into the finish. I just ran the extra lap. I think I came in second because I didn't lap one guy who ran 8 laps and beat my 9 lap time.

It was only an exhibition race so I didn't care. The time was probably really slow. I barely broke 11 that year, so this race was probably in the high 12s.

Is it usual for your first 2 mile of a season to suck horrendously bad? I ran it 1x as a frosh when i was peaked and went like 11:38. Then during end of cross this year (sophomore)I ran 11:15 going out the first lap in 91 seconds and cruising the rest of it. Now that its outdoor I thought I would break 11:00 without trying my first race, and shit the bed and went 11:35 (ran 2:23 800 before hand, and equaled my 400 pr the first lap of that 800). I had completely forgotten how to pace it, and went 1:25, 1:31, 1:19 for my first 3 laps and closed in like 75 the 8th lap. The best miler my year ran 4:47 as a frosh but couldn't break 11:00 because of how weird the pacing is in the 3200.

My first 3200m was in the 8th grade. I wore some sort of Nike tennis shoes (didn't have running shoes). I caught up to the first place guy but he outsprinted me on the stretch to win by one second. My time was 12:06.

First 3200m in high school was when I was a freshman, leaders went out fast (relatively speaking) and died. I ended up catching them and won in 11:14, this time in real running shoes - trainers of course.

Hard to believe those races were over 25 years ago - I still remember them like they were yesterday.

My first was in 9th grade. I don't remember much about my first 3200 other than I had absolutely no idea what I was doing at all. Just tried to hold onto my teammate as long as possible. I think I was 3rd or 4th in the race with a 10:16.

Ninth grade - it indoor track - I was bummed about not playing basketball (not good enough to make the Freshman A team) and ran the 2 mile (not 3200) race on a rock hard, dusty, 10 laps to the mile track. Ran 9:49 in a freshman only race, the only freshman race I ended up running that year. I won the race fairly easily, and I vaguely remember not particularly enjoying the experience as an easily bored 9th grader. I ran 9:20 for two miles outdoors that year, holding on for dear life against a future pretty good Division 1 runner. I echo the comments about not knowing what I was doing.

My 2 mile debut was when i was in 8th grade, my first year running. In that race i ran 21:20 or so. I didnt get last though haha. At the end of that year i ran 13:46. I kept running through high school and my senior year i ran 9:59. Now im a freshman in college and im in about 9:40-9:45 shape.

My first 3200 was really a 2-mile on a cinder track as a freshman in high school.

11:05 was the time that day - for the win too.

3200 PRs by year from then on out:

Freshman - 10:33

Sophomore - 10:19

Junior - 9:51

Senior - 9:48

Eventually - 9:21 (indoor 2 mile)

Best PR of mine: 5,000 on a track - 14:58

Sophomore year, indoors. I'd signed up for the 1000, but the there was no 1000 and by the time I got to the meet they'd already done the mile. So 2 mile it was. I was mad at the coach for not telling me that there was no 1000 and he just said shut up and run. That made me more mad.

Previous fall I hadn't made top 7 on the xc team but had trained hard over the winter. The top guy on the team didn't train much over winter but thought he'd have an easy time of it because it was a scrub triangular or quad meet and hardly anyone was entered.

He started out fast but couldn't hold the pace so I caught him just after the mile and waited until the final lap. My friends screamed GO! with two laps left, and so I went. 10:07 and my first ever W.

I ended up running 9:28, but that was about 10 years later.

I think it was 11:40s as a freshman. Ran 9:52 junior year.

16 minutes in a time trial for freshman xc after never running. Now I run 8:30 3k.

Got paced by a couple varsity teammates. I think I split like 5:10-5:20. I finished at 10:30. That was my freshman year and I've loved the 3200 ever since. Ran 9:48 as a sophomore and probably had a faster split than that during junior year XC. I wanted to go sub-9:20 this season but I'm out for the year with IT band issues.

Where I'm from we don't run 2 miles, we do 3000m, so I've only raced it once in my life, earlier this season in fact. I have to say that the extra lap really takes it out of you, I ran 9:24 with a bad cold and pretty mediocre pacing, since the race was fairly tactical.

I find the extra 18 meters really messes with your splits, so it's a lot harder mentally than races with distances that actually make sense.

Ran 10:15 sophomore year, doubling back from a 4:31 1,600. It was 90 degrees and one of the most painful things I've ever done. I had a lot more in the tank though, and dropped a 70 last lap with ease.