What caused my teammate to get so fast?

You didn’t tell us how old he is. Most is just due to maturation and the remainder is due to the reset he had mentally. You take a break in a certain position and then come back in another one.

He has prime A genetics.

Really, it's simple....

https://media.giphy.com/media/84CRvhy2DJlwA/giphy.gif

Long before he broke his leg, he selected his parents wisely.

Pure Hate Pupil - The Real One wrote:

Really, it's simple....

I can't even put in words how sick I am of seeing this picture. Can you please find another one? It got stupid months ago.

How can it be due to genetics if he wasn’t a standout in xc and the beginning of track?

Ejfufi wrote:

How can it be due to genetics if he wasn’t a standout in xc and the beginning of track?

Be me in elementary school:

First grade: second slowest kid in my class in the hundred yard dash

Second grade: about the same a little faster

Third grade: Third fastest kid in my class in the hundred yard dash

Fourth grade: Second fastest kid in my class in the hundred yard dash

You mature and this will affect ones speed.

puberty

Based on this anecdotal evidence I can only conclude the secret to becoming a great runner is to break my leg. I'll report back in 6 months.

Eureka wrote:

Based on this anecdotal evidence I can only conclude the secret to becoming a great runner is to break my leg. I'll report back in 6 months.

Make sure that you do it while being an idiot! Crucial detail.

Pizeidi wrote:

One of my teammates, who was an avarege runner broke his lower leg being an idiot. After missing the whole indoor season, he ran the fastest 3200m time on the team after 2 or 3 weeks, when literally months ago he wasn’t even one of the top 3 underclassmen..The momentum carried into xc, where after a summer of doing almost nothing, had run a three minute pr, and is currently 2 minutes faster than our 2nd best guy. Can anyone explain what happened? I know that after breaking a bone, your body rebuilds it stronger, could that have something to do with his growth?

Growth and talent more than anything. Thanks repaired bone probably had nothing to do with it.

He is doped to the MF gills

Puberty

1. Maturation. HS performance is very dependent on how far along your base physical development is. He could be receiving much more benefit from workouts atm.

2. Wasn't part of the seasonal structure, might not be worrying about bad performances because he's just trying to come back.

3. Assuming he did other exercises when injured he may have taken something up in rehab that helped out one of his deficiencies.

4. Talent.

As a long time high school track coach I have observed the progression of many runners. People's bodies react differently to training. Some improve far more than others doing the same workload. Genetics, desire, life-style choices, and nutrition are some of the factors. Sometimes it's just a matter of physical maturity. I have seen some boys who were just over 5 feet tall as frosh end up 6 foot + seniors. Also I have seen some make mega leaps in ability without much of a change of how they physically look. Intensity is another factor. One girl new to cross country came crying to me that she was still running the same time after a number of meets. I told her that she has to try harder. By the end of the season she was 3 minutes faster. One story I once heard came from a runner at a high school which was known for their success. He related that he was among a small group who were varsity cross country runners their sophomore year. One of their group dropped out of the sport at the end of the season. The others went on and were very successful. At the start of indoor track the runner who had quit two years earlier decided to return for the winter season. On his first day he said that he was going to run a 5 mile course with his former teammates. They planned to run him into the ground. But whenever they picked up the speed he stayed with them. At the end of the run they couldn't believe that despite all their work and success in the past two years that their newly returned teammate was just as fast as they were. Remember as a runner you have control over no one except yourself, don't fret over what others can do.

Banana Bread wrote:

He is doped to the MF gills

That’s what I said, but my post got deleted. No idea why. The OP’s teammate must be reading the tread.

+1

Very important to have stories across the spectrum. If every story is Gerry Lindgren, it skews our perspective.

Had two close friends going into high school. We all attended different schools. Year one, first kid was fastest of all, by a long shot. Ran varsity. We didn't. He was low-18s, we were high-19s.

Second year, my other friend was fastest, and I was as fast as the first fast kid. We all ran varsity. Fastest times were just under 18.

Third year I was the fastest. The first fast kid was very slow, the second fast kid was trying but I was faster. I was running 17, the first fast kid 19, and second fast kid 18.

Senior year I won state. First fast kid had quit, other fast kid was going backwards; I'd beat him by 3 minutes, but still okay.

I ran D1. First fast kid dropped out of school. The second one became a dope dealer.

FFF wrote:

Had two close friends going into high school. We all attended different schools. Year one, first kid was fastest of all, by a long shot. Ran varsity. We didn't. He was low-18s, we were high-19s.

Second year, my other friend was fastest, and I was as fast as the first fast kid. We all ran varsity. Fastest times were just under 18.

Third year I was the fastest. The first fast kid was very slow, the second fast kid was trying but I was faster. I was running 17, the first fast kid 19, and second fast kid 18.

Senior year I won state. First fast kid had quit, other fast kid was going backwards; I'd beat him by 3 minutes, but still okay.

I ran D1. First fast kid dropped out of school. The second one became a dope dealer.

Cool story, bro, jeah.