High School Mileage (please drop an opinion)

Depends on your goals. I never ran more than 25 miles/week that was attractive to the D1 colleges that recruited me because I was a raw talent. It kept me healthy and fit year-round and ended up running school records in college and got to run after college. I would say if you are running fast and are competitive on 60+ keep at it. At 25 miles/week, I was winning most invitationals and placed Top 7 at State in 4 straight state championships with a runner-up at 3200m and then raced Foot Locker placing as the top kid in my state in XC.

I will say, if I was not being competitive at that mileage (as I found out in college, I built to 110 miles week by my junior year), I would have done what it took to run state leading times with other means, i.e., more mileage, but the quality over quantity method worked for me when I was in high school.

All I would say is that all races it all comes down to SPEED. So don't lose it with mileage.

Whats your training look like and what are youe times?

citius5000 wrote:

Whats your training look like and what are youe times?

2 weeks up 1 week down throughout the summer. Prs are 1619 (hilly course in Xc), 3200 9:27 and 1600 4:23

I think you’re on the right path, keep it up man and listen to your body

I thought the LR wisdom was that the “leave some room for improvement … for college” line of thinking was just nonsense? Running less when you are young to avoid injury is good logic, but thinking you can run faster later but training less now isn’t. Or so I’ve read.

i ran 14:39 for 3.05 miles on 40 mpw - never got around to running on sundays. upped to 55 mpw during summer training camp and returned flat and injured

9:15 2 miler the season before xc on 30 mpw

follow your body but don't overtrain or overdo the mileage

pleaseineedinput wrote:

I’m a rising senior in Highschool,...Should I go up to 70

What's right for you, might not be what's right for others. I'm at around 68-70 mpw right now at age 48, and most people would say that's too much. One mile per week is too much, for them!

Keep most of the miles at a comfortably low intensity. Be measured with the speed work. And listen to your body closely, because that's the only way to really know what actually is best for you.

I'm in agreement with others that if you have built gradually over a number of years, then there is nothing wrong about 70mpw for a senior.

However, injury risk is usually higher with higher mileage. So you have to decide on the risk/reward. Are you getting a good return on your investment compared to 55 or 60 mpw instead of 70?

Also, don't get fixated on 70 mpw (or higher mileage in general). It may be A path to success, but realize it's almost certainly not the only one.

You're looking for one of 3 possible responses. See below.

1. You want to be praised - If that's the case: Great Job! You The Man! You're way better than your teammates!

2. You want us to tell you to do it - If that's the case: Definitely do it, you'll be way better for it, your teammates are idiots!

3. You want us to tell you not to do it- If that's the case: Don't do it, you're going to get injured, your an idiot!

I'm guessing it's number 1, because you're asking about a 5 mile difference, 5 miles man! An increase of 5 miles is not really a change. The only thing it gives you is a nice round number (70) that you can brag to your teammates about. If you want to do it, do it. If you don't want to do it don't do it. It's 5 miles. Come on man!

70 MPW should be the standard for a rising senior who actually gives a damn about how well they do. I would say that a few rare athletes who built up to that much a year earlier could bump that up even a little bit higher, but 70 should be the normal target

There is no magic amount of mileage that will keep you uninjured. When I was in high school, we ran 9 to 15 miles per week (yes, you read that correctly -- this was in the less is more period in the '80s, and we didn't have the internet to gives us a heads up of what others were doing), and I got injured twice in high school.

First off, everyone is different.

For cross country season, 30-45mpw if you definitely plan to run x/c in college. Think longevity. More if you want to max out your body and walk the fine line of getting a season-ending injury.

you get my vote for post of the day

Flagpole wrote:

70 MPW should be the standard for a rising senior who actually gives a damn about how well they do. I would say that a few rare athletes who built up to that much a year earlier could bump that up even a little bit higher, but 70 should be the normal target

There is no magic amount of mileage that will keep you uninjured. When I was in high school, we ran 9 to 15 miles per week (yes, you read that correctly -- this was in the less is more period in the '80s, and we didn't have the internet to gives us a heads up of what others were doing), and I got injured twice in high school.

I agree with this that 70 is kind of the gold standard for a senior boy. The problem is, most high school kids run their mileage way too hard, especially as they feel fitter, hence the injury risk. One day off or running in the pool does wonders for injury mitigation. Also, I agree with those who say don’t lose touch with your speed. At least one day of sprint work and/or weights will help mitigate risk too.

Good addition about running too hard. I disagree with the pool thing. Just run. Go to the pool if you are coming back from injury. Can't handle distance running ATHLETES with kid gloves.

I don't think 70 mpw is too much for a high school senior. Assuming you have built that up over time, which it sounds like you have. You also back off every 2 weeks and take an occasional day off.

Running injuries generally stem from bad mechanics. Training high mileage can exacerbate this. It could be a structural thing specific to you, or more related to your running form. If you have not experienced much in the way of injuries this past year run 60ish mpw, then you should be fine to move to 70. However, it's important to listen to your body. Bad off when you feel something is off or tender.

Burnout is another problem. I, honestly, had a problem with more than 65 mpw. Some can run 140 mpw without burning out. For me, it's probably the fact that I would try jumping from 65 to 80+. Instead of ramping up slowly. The burnout was likely caused by fatigue. (But who knows.)

In any event, I've known lots of runners who ran 70+ miles in HS without injury problems.

Flagpole wrote:

Sub-9 guy wrote:

I agree with this that 70 is kind of the gold standard for a senior boy. The problem is, most high school kids run their mileage way too hard, especially as they feel fitter, hence the injury risk. One day off or running in the pool does wonders for injury mitigation. Also, I agree with those who say don’t lose touch with your speed. At least one day of sprint work and/or weights will help mitigate risk too.

Good addition about running too hard. I disagree with the pool thing. Just run. Go to the pool if you are coming back from injury. Can't handle distance running ATHLETES with kid gloves.

Perhaps you are right. That’s consistent with the Tinman philosophy. Idk, in high school I would run six days per week and always take Sunday off after a progressive long run Saturday (these made me very strong!) It served me very well (2nd at state in a deep state). Never injured (in high school), not even a niggle. I would walk in the pool on Sundays, sometimes swim. The hydrostatic pressure is an excellent recovery tool. See Jay Johnson’s stuff. I’ve noticed Connor Mantz always takes Sunday off after a Saturday long run. It surely hasn’t hurt him.

DirtyT wrote:

A) That's not high mileage. B) Your teammates are probably trash and don't know what they are talking about. C) Volume doesn't cause injury. Bad life choices outside of running(not sleeping enough, eating well, drinking alcohol regularly etc.), and bad biomechanics do. D) The all time American greats(Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein) ran 100 mpw in high school, so this leads back to A.

Run 70 cause you will be better off for it if you can handle it. But make sure you continue to do the things outside of running that help you recover.

Listen to this guy, especially C) !

markboen wrote:

First off, everyone is different.

For cross country season, 30-45mpw if you definitely plan to run x/c in college. Think longevity. More if you want to max out your body and walk the fine line of getting a season-ending injury.

Someone should’ve told Ritz that