A college coach told me that I need to run 20:00 for 4 miles to try out. Is this realistic for me?

Who's the coach?

Is this for a Japanese HS team?

Something like 15:15 for 5k.

This seems reasonable depending on what team you are looking to join. I am sure the coach you are talking to is from a top 15-20 team in DI and this would be a good indicator of your potential strength.

collegekid1928 wrote:

First of all, what would be a 5k time that is equivalent to a 20:00 4 mile? My High School PR's are 1:55 and 4:17, and I have a decent aerobic base built from two summers of 60 mile weeks. How long would it take for me to get in this kind of shape?

Without naming the coach or school, what conference does this school compete in? Surely you can tell us that.

We cannot give you an informed decision without knowing the level this school competes at. A 15:10 5K would be a reasonable equivalent of a 20 min. 4 mile.

Again, which conference are they in?

collegekid1928 wrote:

First of all, what would be a 5k time that is equivalent to a 20:00 4 mile? My High School PR's are 1:55 and 4:17, and I have a decent aerobic base built from two summers of 60 mile weeks. How long would it take for me to get in this kind of shape?

That s crazy fast

messi wrote:

collegekid1928 wrote:

First of all, what would be a 5k time that is equivalent to a 20:00 4 mile? My High School PR's are 1:55 and 4:17, and I have a decent aerobic base built from two summers of 60 mile weeks. How long would it take for me to get in this kind of shape?

Without naming the coach or school, what conference does this school compete in? Surely you can tell us that.

We cannot give you an informed decision without knowing the level this school competes at. A 15:10 5K would be a reasonable equivalent of a 20 min. 4 mile.

Again, which conference are they in?

You need to know what conference the school is in to predict whether the OP can reasonably expect to run under 20 minutes for the 4-mile?

collegekid1928 wrote:

First of all, what would be a 5k time that is equivalent to a 20:00 4 mile? My High School PR's are 1:55 and 4:17, and I have a decent aerobic base built from two summers of 60 mile weeks. How long would it take for me to get in this kind of shape?

What is your dress size? You don't have to tell us your school name, but to properly gauge your potential I HAVE to know your dress size.

Just to try out?

Just go unattached to a meet the team does, and beat his guys.

if you cant run 20:00 for 4miles, then im not sure you're cut out for ncaa running (assuming we are talking about d1). the coach is right.

knox harrington wrote:

Something like 15:15 for 5k.

^^^ this.

I assume we're talking about running on a track, not XC. So, a 15:15 track 5000m is roughly equivalent to a high 15:XX in 5K XC (depending on hills, weather, etc.).

So, 20:00 for 4 miles on a track is a reasonable standard for a better D1 program.

My son's a walk on for a D1 team. He's running two mile warm up, 5:10 pace for four miles, 2 miles cool down as a normal training session. So, if you can't do a 20:00 four mile time trial, I don't think you could complete the workouts.

I would think that you could. With a mile Pr at 4:17 and you train at 60 miles i don't see why not but we also need to know how you train.

I remember when I was being recruited in the mid-90s, UCLA told me I had to run a 9:10 for 3200m to walk-on... I was a 9:30 guy, and never lost to UCLA guy in the four years I was in college. Some coaches just don't understand potential or reality.

I had a 149 and 405 pr and could probably run 20 min for 4 miles but it would be close.

I think you are underestimating how difficult this would be for a true middle distance runner with a 4:17 pr.

Yeah no kidding. My college coach once told me that he coaches "talent" athletes. Pathetic excuse for a guy who didn't know what the hell he was doing. Yeah, if you're super talented, you will improve no matter how bad the coaching is. The real measure is taking the 10:30 2 mile kid in highschool and getting him to run a 24:00 8k in college. The best coaches recruit talent, but coach hard work and physiology. Simple as that. It's a shame only a few of the greats like Wetmore understand this.

runnerlegend99 wrote:

if you cant run 20:00 for 4miles, then im not sure you're cut out for ncaa running (assuming we are talking about d1). the coach is right.

What if we're talking about a HS Senior that will be a College Freshman next year who has lots of room for improvement?

Sloop John B wrote:

The real measure is taking the 10:30 2 mile kid in highschool and getting him to run a 24:00 8k in college. The best coaches recruit talent, but coach hard work and physiology. Simple as that. It's a shame only a few of the greats like Wetmore understand this.

Let's wake up from this wet dream for a moment bWetmore does not take 10:30 guys and turn them into 24:00 guys. He takes 8:50-9:15 guys and turns them into 24 min guys. Sorry to burst your bubble.

I don't know of any program that takes 10:30 guys. Maybe Junior College?

Sloop John B wrote:

The real measure is taking the 10:30 2 mile kid in highschool and getting him to run a 24:00 8k in college. The best coaches recruit talent, but coach hard work and physiology. Simple as that. It's a shame only a few of the greats like Wetmore understand this.

Let's wake up from this wet dream for a moment bWetmore does not take 10:30 guys and turn them into 24:00 guys. He takes 8:50-9:15 guys and turns them into 24 min guys. Sorry to burst your bubble.

I don't know of any program that takes 10:30 guys. Maybe Junior College?

runnerlegend99 wrote:

if you cant run 20:00 for 4miles, then im not sure you're cut out for ncaa running (assuming we are talking about d1). the coach is right.

Well that's a dumb statement