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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]IME, there are kids who start on the team without being able to run a full three miles.  Even by mid-season, it seemed like there were a couple who couldn't run the full 5K.  At meets, I'd always see some kids walking across the finish (or walking mid-course for a bit).  [/quote]

Former XC state champion (Illinois) and 4:06 high school miler. Had a competitive NCAA D1 career. I enjoyed 9th grade because there was minimal pressure. I ran 9:10 for 2 miles in 9th grade and the pressure started. My father abandoned the family and mother had no job and health problems, so it was a way to go to college ,(I was a very good student with no skills other than analytic thinking so college was a necessity).  I don't like athletic scholarships but they are chased fervently. Brother was even faster - 4:08 miler in 10th grade.

A few points:

Start easy and get to know your limits. I was never suited for high mileage but had sub 50 400m speed. Don't invite sickness and injury with too much mileage. Talked to parents at the ACC meet this fall and too much mileage and accompanying illness and injury was a common complaint. And some of the complaints were coming from the team with the best coach in the league who is keen not to overtrain - you have to know your limits and own them. Plenty of time to run high mileage once you develop and see if you can do it.

Buy good shoes. Plenty of new runners get shin splints but often it is just lousy shoes. There are not many great indoor tracks in DC and racing them can be stressful. Get good shoes. That means racing spikes, too. I ran board tracks in my day - 11 laps to the mile (e.g. Millrose Games, Sunkist Invitational in LA) and if I doubled the next morning I was as sore as a prizefighter. Pay attention to limits.

Diet? Just eat good food and don't worry about the volume. Just avoid sugar and processed foods - not easy for a teen but no need to focus on counting calories when you start. Eating disorders are a problem in the sport because short term body fat reduction makes you fast but will damage you. The above mentioned ACC coach watches her athletes closely for health.

Train consistently enough and for most healthy fitness will obtain. Wish I had adopted more of Van Aaken methods - less intensity and light hearted but athletic workouts. Hard to find his books but there are Internet references.

In my day cross training was frowned upon - clearly wrong. Do some for strength at a coach's direction. I know coaches in the area and many are very good.

The team experience is great - still have friends from those days.

I might try to help with coaching when I retire. I was trained by a guy who ran for Igloi and can make an average runner fast on lowish mileage.

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