Track Times 100M and 400M

[Anonymous]

That's not very fast. Last year at the junior olympics, first place for age 12 ran 100m in 12.02s. Even last place for that division (68th place) time was 14.79s. Ages 8 and under 100m dash finished with times between 12s and 13s. 5 of the best 100m dash runners in MD finished with times in the 12s range. 400m runners finished with times between 55s (1st place happens to be from VA), and 1:16 (77th last place) for ages 11. A time of 1:10 would have been close to last place around 72nd place.

[Anonymous]

Again the coach here, your son is probably quick. If he were to get track and field training he could probably be a great athlete. I have never coach kids that young, but if he very quick and does not fear a lot he could easily be a hurdler. But again he can be develop into a track runner. I would say, try to make him run summer track and see if he likes it, he will probably get beaten but will learn how to maintain his speed for longer distance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's not very fast. Last year at the junior olympics, first place for age 12 ran 100m in 12.02s. Even last place for that division (68th place) time was 14.79s. Ages 8 and under 100m dash finished with times between 12s and 13s. 5 of the best 100m dash runners in MD finished with times in the 12s range. 400m runners finished with times between 55s (1st place happens to be from VA), and 1:16 (77th last place) for ages 11. A time of 1:10 would have been close to last place around 72nd place.

There's a big difference between Junior Olympics and a local high school's track team ... especially if she is aware he'd start out as JV.

[Anonymous]

Most high schools don’t have jv track It is one team. those times are not crazy for high school track.
Would suggest looking at TFFRS which has college track times or mile split for high school or athletic.net. It provides the grade of the high school kid
Also agree w the training. Training and changes to form and using blocks can increase speed in short time period. Good luck to your DS!

[Anonymous]

OP, my DS was always called the "cheetah" of his soccer team. Plays defense - he will be standing still and then races down the field.

He transitioned to track, and is among the top sprinters at his HS. He's not setting state records, but he is fast. As he continues to work with the coaches, his form improves and he gains speed.

Seems like your child is similar. Definitely give track a try.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a track high school senior who will run D1 next year in college.

I would say, forget about his current times. Just encourage a love of running. Join a youth track program, play rec sports like soccer, lacrosse or basketball that involve running, or just have him play with friends outdoors. Or, train for a 5k together. Only if that interests him.

Get him some good shoes, fitted at a running store.

My DS just did rec league track (very minimal) fro 6-8th grade, and did some rec league soccer. But he always loved running, and he trained in middle school and before freshman cross country by going out out for runs 20-30 minutes at a time.

At his age, you want to build consistency and love of running. Focus less on his current overall times.

A sub 60 sec 400m would be a good high school beginning boys times. For a mile, try to get to 7-8 minute mark to start.

High schools have summer training programs too. Usually on their athletic websites or the coach will share.

[Anonymous]

Here are some of the top VA high school indoor track times by event:

https://va.milesplit.com/rankings/leaders/high-school-boys/indoor-track-and-field?year=2024&accuracy=fat&grade=all&conversion=n&page=1

[Anonymous]

Also get him a garmin forerunner (both DH and ds have the forerunner 45) or a basic, sub $150 watch that has gps and that can track his pace when he runs. Also, smart wool running socks at the running store to prevent blisters (not cotton socks).

[Anonymous]

OP, a bunch of people here keep referencing high school times. You need to be looking at middle school times.

[Anonymous]

The great thing about track is you can improve dramatically with training and conditioning and your son will be able to see demonstrable improvements in his times as he does. There are some really fun track clubs in the area and it’s a sport that you can keep doing past college. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

Here’s a calculator where you can enter his distance, time, age, and gender, and it will give you a rough idea of the the percentile that he falls into.

https://runhive.com/tools/performance-calculator

Based on those times, he’s faster than about 70% of boys his age, which is a pretty decent baseline. A good coach can improve his running form and efficiency. Sign him up for track!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a 12 year old who plays multiple field team sports. He is known for his speed on those teams (fastest or among the fastest).

I hand clocked his 100M and 400M times on the tracks with regular tennis shoes and they are 15 sec and 1m10s respectively. Are there any track athletes here and can put these times into perspectives? I assume these are just general fast times but not that impressive in the eyes of track athletes.

Ignore most of these answers, jeez. A few seem to have a clue.

15s is nothing special while 1:10 in a mom timed one-off time trial is not bad. But neither mean much. He may be able to go considerably faster in an actual race after some prep. You won't know until he runs some track. If he's regarded as fast, he probably is. Now he may be 400/800 or even 1600m fast rather than 100m fast. Good mid distance runners are pretty fast but not on the same planet as 100m runners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is a 12 year old who plays multiple field team sports. He is known for his speed on those teams (fastest or among the fastest).

I hand clocked his 100M and 400M times on the tracks with regular tennis shoes and they are 15 sec and 1m10s respectively. Are there any track athletes here and can put these times into perspectives? I assume these are just general fast times but not that impressive in the eyes of track athletes.

Ignore most of these answers, jeez. A few seem to have a clue.

15s is nothing special while 1:10 in a mom timed one-off time trial is not bad. But neither mean much. He may be able to go considerably faster in an actual race after some prep. You won't know until he runs some track. If he's regarded as fast, he probably is. Now he may be 400/800 or even 1600m fast rather than 100m fast. Good mid distance runners are pretty fast but not on the same planet as 100m runners.

I agree ... you got some bad advice, but really, to know for sure what his potential is, he should just give it a try. A coach can make a difference. So can being in a competitive situation vs. just hanging out at the track with a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a track high school senior who will run D1 next year in college.

I would say, forget about his current times. Just encourage a love of running. Join a youth track program, play rec sports like soccer, lacrosse or basketball that involve running, or just have him play with friends outdoors. Or, train for a 5k together. Only if that interests him.

Get him some good shoes, fitted at a running store.

My DS just did rec league track (very minimal) fro 6-8th grade, and did some rec league soccer. But he always loved running, and he trained in middle school and before freshman cross country by going out out for runs 20-30 minutes at a time.

At his age, you want to build consistency and love of running. Focus less on his current overall times.

A sub 60 sec 400m would be a good high school beginning boys times. For a mile, try to get to 7-8 minute mark to start.

High schools have summer training programs too. Usually on their athletic websites or the coach will share.

Listen to this guy. Your son is only 12. He is still growing and developing. Like PP said, work on getting that 400 time under a minute by high school. It’s an achievable goal and a good benchmark.