Texas HS Coach wrote:
What do typical teams' top 5-7 runners average per week during their base phase?
I find it hard to believe that the majority of the teams at NXN just have really great workout strategies and gifted runners and that this is all off 40 mpw for girls and 50 mpw for guys.
I believe that the teams near the top are doing some serious mileage, yet there seems to be some stigma when talking about high mileage. Everyone keeps it hush hush.
Does anyone know what the teams that are consistently at NXN do volume-wise?
And before you say it - yes, I know mileage isn't everything... but it seems to be the one thing people try to avoid talking openly about.
I coach a team (boys) that will be at NXN this year. The mileage for our top 7 actually varies quite a bit. Generally more talent or more injuries = less mileage. Essentially no healthy runner on our top 7 (or top 20 for that matter) runs less than 50-55 miles per week by the end of the summer (on six runs in most cases). During the season they transiently run more than that (60-65 is about the minimum peak mileage for a healthy runner, some freshmen/sophomores exempted, on six runs or maybe a 20min jog on Sunday).
We don't really do "eggs at the wall" like some places do. We have some runners who reach close to 70 during the summer and 75ish at peak in the season (seven days of course). These are upperclassmen who have not had any significant injuries in the past, or who have personally lobbied for more mileage (e.g. "coach I want to run more because I want to make the top 7 / break 16:30 / etc." - this happens with one or two people per year). Once in a while we'll get a real mileage hog who will run upwards of 80 miles a week at times. These are special cases obviously--needs the right mentality for it, able to take care of the time management stuff it takes to double frequently, and the body that both handles the mileage well AND benefits from it. But these do happen, and you are short-changing their running career if you do not prescribe higher mileage to them. We will usually have 1-2 runners like this per class year.
Some people will say things like "high schoolers have no business doing 80 mpw" but try telling that to someone who gets a scholarship with that training, or a spot on a DI team, or been to NXN, who would have never gotten it with 50 miles a week. Much less 40 or 30 or whatever.