So, how does that rate?
Below is a link to the result. It's the last race on the program. Age -16 means turning 16 this year, ie 1999 born. Hasn't had his birthday yet.
http://www.nswathletics.org.au/Portals/18/Competition/5000m%20allcomers%20results.pdf
I don't know the kid, but I have heard stories about his training.
Only 20 seconds off the World Record for his age, he's obviously got talent. All The WR holder, Wataru Ueno, was 90th in the 2013 IAAF XC Champs and runs for Honda.
about as fast as that kid from california, who ran something like that as a sophomore (turning 16 that year) and later was injured and became a moonie, but had a very brief comeback at the wharf to wharf race.
14:30's very fast for a 15 year old outside of Kenya/Ethiopia but he has to obviously improve 90 seconds to be a player on the world stage, so you never know.
I've seen the kid run a few times. Not an early developer, but will need to work on his speed. He can certainly improve over the next few years, but unless he can run a decent 400, how can he run 12.5 back to back 400s at 62? He could end up more a 10km runner I guess.
Also whilst he does train a fair bit, I don't know if he's at ridiculously hard levels for his age.
Aussie track and field seems to me to be on an upwards path, as long as certain top youngsters stay in the sport. Some very strong sprint talent in the 15-18 age range, ditto at 400-800 level. A 13yo ran 15.25 last year too, over 5km. An Aussie won an NCAA indoors 3km the other day in 7.55.
jjjjjj wrote:
about as fast as that kid from california, who ran something like that as a sophomore (turning 16 that year) and later was injured and became a moonie, but had a very brief comeback at the wharf to wharf race.
14:30's very fast for a 15 year old outside of Kenya/Ethiopia but he has to obviously improve 90 seconds to be a player on the world stage, so you never know.
Along with dropping 90 seconds he has to pass 10th grade.
Shawn Forrest ran 14:19 at age 16 (Vic under 17 record) Nunawading Athletics/ melbourne. so this kid has a bright future, Forrest was 2x runner up in the ncaa 10k for arkansas.
Lots of talent in australia
And he beat Mike Power's U16 3k record in 8:25. Power was an outstanding junior with excellent times from 1500 to 5k. In 1995, he became the youngest Australian to run a sub four-minute mile, turning in a time of 3:58 at 18 years old. He went to the University of Arkansas, did very well overall, but lost his way somewhat, and didn't establish himself in the elite ranks. He now coaches distance at the University of Memphis.
Australia does have lots of junior talent, but, unfortunately, most of it is overworked, especially anaerobically, and dies off before it has a chance to excel at the highest level.
This kid has always been a distance monster-perennial national cross country champion, has done quite a few 10k and half-marathons, and "loves to run". His father coaches him, and sounds over-the-top if his website is anything to go by, but swears he doesn't flog his athletes.
He may be sacrificing speed (despite his record-breaking) for strength and endurance.
our record is better..
Wow - Josh Torley's dad calls his training group the Australian Running Academy?
If Josh wants to run 5km and 10km as he gets older, he needs to be able to kick it home in 52-54. So he needs to get his 400 down to 50 at least.
I've seen some of those other kids in the program run. One has a big rivalry with a NSW girl over 800, 1500 and XC. The NSW's girl's mum is an ex-champion and still holds some state junior distance records. Both have promise, but I wonder about them being worked too hard.
I actually think the biggest problem with Aussie middle and long distance talent is the right people aren't being trained for them. We should be targeting quality 200-400 types, with the right build and a bit of an engine, to run 800. 46.5 is ok for 400 and will put you in a national final for 400, but it's enough speed to make you an Olympic finalist over 800. Our guys training for long distance are mainly doing so because they aren't fast enough to do well at shorter distances.
I'm not so sure about the junior talent being overworked. I just think that some of the coaches can't quite see the big picture, and what is best for the athlete's long term development. For example, if a 14yo shows big promise as a future 800/1500 runner, they need to be working sprints (and I don't mean 300s) at least twice a week, be taught how to run properly and have a good strength program. It's not enough to just get them into mileage and think that solves everything.
As usual, I agree with you.
Working acceleration/max velocity is an absolute requirement for good MD running, and is sadly neglected. It is easy to do while building aerobic capabilities. Some guys, especially 4/8 types, will only be able to do short track tempos, others can (and should) do genuine long runs of 2 hours and more. Future 8/15 stars can come from anywhere on this spectrum, and the training needs to be tailored to their individual profiles, but proper sprint work needs to be on everyone's program, but is rarely focused on specifically.
Unfortunately, the coaches don't have a holistic view, the big picture is lost on them, and they believe that years of hard, anaerobic reps is the way to go. Occasionally it works, like Alex Rowe (just-almost gave up after his stress fractures), but most of the time it fizzles out.
I think Alex Rowe did more of them (hard anaerobic reps) when he was younger. He certainly works top speed now.