I would of course read this while playing a long match of Halo.

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Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. -Enzo Ferrari

There's a great finish line pic I have somewhere of a 10 year old girl outkicking me on a 5k I ran a 20:00 even on. I'm a very tall guy, and look like I'm chasing her.

Not really.
Yer just slow.
Igot

New England HS XC meet was yesterday; female winner ran 19:11 and there were a lot of times in the 20, 21 min range.

More depth than a local 5k around here.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

It's pretty good. Unfortunately, a lot of times it's parents driving the kids and pushing them constantly. They'll run more than the average STer, including speed work. Most of the girls running good times at that age either burnout in high school/college or get injured and never want to run again.

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speedySTATES

That would barely make the top 10 in this years 5a girls meet in Colorado.

John

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Yeah even small states like Montana has a few girls under 18 (and dozens under 19) and a few boys under 16 for 3 miles (so add 30 sec. to make it a 5k). Check out the top 100 on dyestat for best h.s. times.

Everybody is trying to compare an 11 year old's time to high Schoolers. I think she could be faster with 3-4 more years of training.

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Pain or damage don't end the world, or despair, or beatings. The world ends when you're dead, until then you're due for more punishment. Stand it like a man. And give some back.

If you read around and follow the sport closely, there are many young ladies that run their lifetime bests between 12 and 15 years old. You'll see stories about very young females a few times every year, but very rarely do they "make it" as top notch runners. Its certainly possible this young lady could improve with some training, but the odds aren't great. There was a girl, Briana Jacuzewicz, in the early 2000s that ran in the neighborhood of 16:40 when she was 12, and hasn't improved since, and that is sadly the case for most young girls. As soon as they hit puberty, its tough to hang on to that form.

The hard part is that until you get to high school, you don't really have times for kids that age for 5km. But take Jordan Hasay as an example. She ran 9:48 for the 3km on the track in 2004, when she was 12 (or just had *just* turned 13). That's 16:20 5km pace. Admittedly, that was the USATF Junior Olympic Record, which she then broke a year later going 9:35. But while there aren't that many girls that age going sub-10 for 3km, I'm sure are many going sub-11, and a LOT going sub-12.

And, of course, let's not forget that this is America, and while American *women* tend to do a whole lot better than American men on the track, they still aren't like the Africans. I would wager the number of 11y.o. East Africans who can run 21:30 is probably massive.

So I suppose it depends on context. What does "pretty fast" really mean?

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Most of the girls running good times at that age either burnout in high school/college or get injured and never want to run again.

This is often the case. Typically it's due to too early a focus. However, kids sports tends to promote and encourage this level of focus these days. The kids are aided and abetted with this by coaches and parents.

There is a school of thought that a real focus on middle distance running should not really start until age 14 -15 ie the start of high-school. Up until that point the kids are better off doing sports that promote all around athleticism with lots of running and aerobic activity - soccer is obviously the best example of this. Basketball is another good one.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Colorado? Go watch California's state XC meet if you truly want to be humbled.

These are the results from the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation - basically, 1/3 of SoCal) meet:
http://www.sml1.com/...ng/cifxc2009/d1g.txt

The winning 5A time at CO's state meet was an 18:29. Altitude aside, that would've been good enough for 28th place at REGIONALS in SoCal.

You can't just say altitude aside like it means nothing. You ever raced at altitude? In high school, I was over 30 seconds faster at 500ft than I was at 7000ft over a mile. Over a 5k I would have probably been north of 90 seconds slower. Even for people living at altitude, it is a huuuuuuuuge factor, especially in distance running.

I live in Boulder and have raced regularly in Keystone and Breckenridge (9,000 and 10,000', respectively). I've had the privilege of racing everywhere - Kentucky, Florida, Texas, San Diego, Las Vegas.

Altitude does slow you down, but not 90 seconds over a 5K, especially when you live where you race. Keep in mind that all of these girls grew up at the same elevation they're racing at.

[edit: I'll have real numbers for you on Thanksgiving. I have done three 5Ks over the past month, and am doing a flat, fast turkey trot in San Diego. We'll see what it's worth for me!]

No kidding. I'm always sucking wind here (Boulder) and feel like superman when I go to Austin or Connecticut. Interestingly (to me) I was always sucking wind when I lived at sea level; it's only living and training at altitude and then going back to sea level that has me feeling like I have enough air.

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Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. -Enzo Ferrari

You almost got chicked

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man

Chicked? Man, you almost got egged!

I would like to mention that a lot of times, middle-school to highschool girls hit their prime before they can drive. My HS squad had a girl go sub-19 her freshman year [altitude] and go 22:30 her senior year [altitude].

There's a 13 yr old girl here in Charlotte that has run 17:36 for a 5k and 37:26 for a 10k. When she was 11 she ran 18:14.

There's been several stories about her. Pretty astounding.