Decent mile for 7th grader

Oh and I complement forgot to ask what would be a good goal for him by the end of the season. Thank you again.

5:10 is a very good time to run in grade 7, especially in a time trial as opposed to a race. I ran 5:20 at his age, and improved to make it to a D1 program by the time I was in high school.

If he follows abnormal progression and stays relatively healthy there is a good chance he could be a good runner.

Under 5 minutes is a good goal for the season. I wouldn't be surprised if he runs 4:50-4:55 with some training and experience this year.

Poster above is pretty accurate.

That's a solid time and would make him at least somewhat competitive in most races in my area/league. Top kids are running 4:50-4:55 (with a verrrrry select few dipping into the 4:40s), which he could likely improve to with some decent training and in a race situation.

As for the future and scholarships and beyond, take it one step at a time. I've had plenty of kids run under 5:20 in 7th grade. Some ended up running in D1 programs. Some quit the sport shortly thereafter. Some got faster, but not much. A lot of it depends on physical development (is he already bigger and more mature or does he still have a lot of growing to do?), further coaching, interest, health, etc.

Big keys in middle school are teaching the basics, instilling a love for the sport, and getting kids to buy in to what that all entails. Once you have that down, you can really start looking at the truly talented kids, which your son seems to be, and hopefully building from there.

Thank you and the previous poster so much for your insight. As for your question about his size/growth, I would say he still has quite a bit of growing ahead of him. He is currently about 5 foot 4 and weighs just about nothing. As for muscle growth he is basically a pencil. Little to no major muscle growth anywhere on his body. I am not the tallest (standing at 6 foot 2) but I would say he still has a good deal of growth ahead of him both height and muscle wise.

I ran 4:56 as a 7th grader last year so it it possible for the kid to run under 5 if he has competition. The only way he probably ran that time is because he had the high schoolers as good competition.

Excellent time. An untrained 7th grader running 5:10 is very promising. Must be a decent program (or a yuuuge school) to have 15, even HS age kids, running sub 5:10.

middleschoolcoach gives good advice. Don't get too starry eyed yet but help support him if this is something he enjoys doing. 7th grade is still a long ways from college and much can happen. Don't become one of "those" parents.....

It may be a little premature to do anything yet or even think that far ahead but the potential is there. As long as he keeps growing and practicing hard it might be possible. At the moment just concentrate on his running now. He still has at least five years until you will really know.

I'm in seventh grade and I run 4:58. I don't train a ton though so I don't burnout. I would say just let your kid have fun. I love running and can't imagine not doing it but some kids don't.