Coaching super talented kid who can't run more than 15 mpw without injury.

Great advice here. Give him an off day or two a week with your pool training. The advice on the bone density was great, with such a growth spurt I guarentee you his growth plates are wide open. You have a young thoroughbred on your hands! Keep him healthy and motivated the day will come when he's not injured and when it does lookout.

Look up the IL XC State Champ and his older brother both were late bloomers on limited training!

Good Luck!

Cross training and strength and flexibility - Look up the 4:05 miler - Peter Callahan - he was made of glass

Get this dude a bike and have him cycle a few hours a week to build up his legs and get him in good shoes. Also quit making that kid run so fast, we all can tell you are an eager coach likely making that kid go our on 15mpw and run way to hard. Slow it down man quit injurying that kid.

Also - Quit letting that kid heal strike.

If you are SURE it is shin splints, have him do foot drills. 100 yards each. Every day. It'll take time, but if he really wants to improve, it'll be worth it. That's what it took for me to get rid of them. After doing them that much ever day for one summer, I strengthened my legs enough that I never have had shin splints since.

Walk on toes

Walk on Heels

Walk on toes pointed inwards

Walk on toes pointed outwards

Walk on inside wall of feet

Walk on outside wall of feet

Classic Toe grass pulling exercise

Toe drags

Each one for 100 yards.

Damn that kid is talented, what is his 5K times?

I was hoping to find some good advice here. I got bad shin splints after going from 100mpw to 140mpw the week I got shin splints. I did all mileage barefoot on soft grass field so it wasn't the shoes to blame it was definitely the mileage increase. I've been at 50mpw for last two weeks. I can still run hard on it but anything over 8 miles flares it up. I'm just hoping it goes away.

What does his diet look like?

does he want to keep running?

if not, leave him alone

if so, there's some good advice on here. maybe just something super basic like lots of walking to strengthen his legs with a minute or two fast every now and then, or 100m @ 800m pace, equal rest x 10-15 minutes on grass if you can get there

he's a talent, so he doesn't need lots of running, just consistently and to stay pain-free.

tough situation, don't force it.

Get him to a physiotherapist/specialist and investigate what the problem is.

They're more likely to tell you something useful than the folk on here!

I do this before thinking about what training to do. Otherwise you're playing with his long term health and that's not right.

Embrace your. Heritage wrote:

Milk and blood diet. Gotta stay with your genetic predisposition. Has he been circumcised as a teen? That is also key.

^This. There have been numerous studies published exploring the relationship between circumcision and performance in endurance-based activities. For example, look at the Kalenjin tribe of the Rift Valley. Traditionally, they are circumcised at a young age.

I concur. Circumcision has long been known to release exogenous testosterone into the bloodstream. This increases red blood cell counts, therefore improving aerobic performance. In fact, there has not been an uncircumcised Olympic gold medalist from the 800 - 10 000 since Yuriy Borzaikovsky snagged the title in Athens. It is an insider secret that Alberto Salazar circumcised Galen Rupp at the relatively late age of 16 to allow him to fully develop as an athlete. If Europeans want to start competing on the world stage at the same level as Kenyans, or even proud circumcised Americans like Murphy or Centrowitz, they need to reintroduce widespread circumcision.

hbbyjggr wrote:

Embrace your. Heritage wrote:

Milk and blood diet. Gotta stay with your genetic predisposition. Has he been circumcised as a teen? That is also key.

^This. There have been numerous studies published exploring the relationship between circumcision and performance in endurance-based activities. For example, look at the Kalenjin tribe of the Rift Valley. Traditionally, they are circumcised at a young age.

I just came across this thread, and can put in my two cents.

I worked at a pediatric clinic for years that sometimes included assisting in circumcision. In our pamphlets to parents we laid out the benefits: It is not only more hygienic, but is also recommended for physique purposes. The extra testosterone available to the system allows for improved development early on and through adolescence.

I highly recommend it to any such athletes trying to gain this health benefit or up their performance. Great find!

CircumcisionConnoisseur wrote:

I concur. Circumcision has long been known to release exogenous testosterone into the bloodstream. This increases red blood cell counts, therefore improving aerobic performance. In fact, there has not been an uncircumcised Olympic gold medalist from the 800 - 10 000 since Yuriy Borzaikovsky snagged the title in Athens. It is an insider secret that Alberto Salazar circumcised Galen Rupp at the relatively late age of 16 to allow him to fully develop as an athlete. If Europeans want to start competing on the world stage at the same level as Kenyans, or even proud circumcised Americans like Murphy or Centrowitz, they need to reintroduce widespread circumcision.

hbbyjggr wrote:

^This. There have been numerous studies published exploring the relationship between circumcision and performance in endurance-based activities. For example, look at the Kalenjin tribe of the Rift Valley. Traditionally, they are circumcised at a young age.

The controversial late-age circumcision of Rupp ignited a small uproar in Europe, yet Rupp's performances on the world stage warrant drastic measures. Government-mandated circumcision in the Czech Republic lead to a series of breakout performances from Jakub Holusa, highlighted by a silver medal performance in the 800m at the 2016 World Indoor Championships. Even more astounding, WADA officials are starting to believe circumcision has been the main factor contributing to the meteoric rise of the Scottish athletes Callum Hawkins and Andy Butchart.

Brian.

hbbyjggr wrote:

Embrace your. Heritage wrote:

Milk and blood diet. Gotta stay with your genetic predisposition. Has he been circumcised as a teen? That is also key.

^This. There have been numerous studies published exploring the relationship between circumcision and performance in endurance-based activities. For example, look at the Kalenjin tribe of the Rift Valley. Traditionally, they are circumcised at a young age.

These overblown theories are ridiculous. Leave it to letsrun posters to attempt to find any sort of outlandish reasoning behind certain people's athletic success. It all comes down to a good training environment, diet, genetics, and the proximity of a runner's birth to the last lunar eclipse.

The moon increases iron levels present in the water by controlling the tides. Runners born during an eclipse have significantly lower ferritin levels. This explains why most professional runners happen to be born in bursts, and why certain siblings outperform their eclipse-proximate counterparts.

Voice Of Reason wrote:

hbbyjggr wrote:

^This. There have been numerous studies published exploring the relationship between circumcision and performance in endurance-based activities. For example, look at the Kalenjin tribe of the Rift Valley. Traditionally, they are circumcised at a young age.

These overblown theories are ridiculous. Leave it to letsrun posters to attempt to find any sort of outlandish reasoning behind certain people's athletic success. It all comes down to a good training environment, diet, genetics, and the proximity of a runner's birth to the last lunar eclipse.

The moon increases iron levels present in the water by controlling the tides. Runners born during an eclipse have significantly lower ferritin levels. This explains why most professional runners happen to be born in bursts, and why certain siblings outperform their eclipse-proximate counterparts.

Don't listen to this guy. It's pretty obvious he hasn't been circumcised either because his parental guardian(s) won't let him or he questions the ethics behind it... most likely the latter as he's probably drinking the same Kool-aid as Goucher, Magness, Epstein, etc.

Brian.

4:30 is not a huge talent.

Caster Semenya still has a foreskin and her T levels are as high as anyones.

I haven't heard anything about circumcision, but it is true that lunar eclipses have an effect on human behavior and affects our biological build. Studies show that while the sun has an impact on our day-to-day behaviors, the moon has a lasting impact on our bodies.

Here's a short article breaching upon similar topics:

https://www.heartmath.org/gci-commentaries/lunar-phases-and-their-effects-on-life-on-earth-and-earth-processes/

In short, if you look at lunar eclipses and near-lunar eclipses, you will see runners that were in fact born near those dates and have a heightened exposure to this lunar circumstance. Some known affects are lowered feratin levels as previously stated, along with an increase in chance of bipolar disorders, social anxiety, and in rare cases pre-adolescent balding. You guys should probably look up your lunar eclipse or near-eclipse proximity to be more aware of your possible standing. Better safe than sorry.

Stay safe and wear your moon-hats!

Numbers Don't Lie wrote:

Voice Of Reason wrote:

These overblown theories are ridiculous. Leave it to letsrun posters to attempt to find any sort of outlandish reasoning behind certain people's athletic success. It all comes down to a good training environment, diet, genetics, and the proximity of a runner's birth to the last lunar eclipse.

The moon increases iron levels present in the water by controlling the tides. Runners born during an eclipse have significantly lower ferritin levels. This explains why most professional runners happen to be born in bursts, and why certain siblings outperform their eclipse-proximate counterparts.

Don't listen to this guy. It's pretty obvious he hasn't been circumcised either because his parental guardian(s) won't let him or he questions the ethics behind it... most likely the latter as he's probably drinking the same Kool-aid as Goucher, Magness, Epstein, etc.

Brian.

Brian, please take your simplistic views on human anatomy back to the 19th century, you old hack. The success of the NOP has nothing to do with circumcision. These talented young athletes have reestablished America's preeminent role in the parthenon of Olympic glory through expert coaching and science.

There are no "secrets" to these spry stallions' physical accomplishments. Other coaches have known for years that weight training and ripping a pack of cigs 2 weeks out from peak fitness can improve strength to weight ratio and aerobic capacity.

If you knew what you were talking about, Brian, you would spend less time hawking circumcision and more time advocating for the short-term pulmonary benefits of tobacco usage.

Good day, you duplicitous oaf.