Indoor is not indicative of track in general since many of the bottom third of teams don’t sponsor indoor or compete in any meaningful way… fun thread.
Thankful for the thoughtful comments everyone. I should clarify my original post: The median MALE D1 distance runner can run a 15:07 5k. Change my mind.
The median guy ran about 14:40 indoor. This isn't an opinion. It is like me saying I don't believe that Nur can win a 5k title and you show me that he did.
This all depends on what you're including in your data. For example, an 800/mile specialist may run a 5k or two in their career, but it will be significantly slower than the average 5000 meter specialist. I think when trying to figure out what is "average" for D1 one has to take into account which runners actually specialize in the 5k. The true average D1 5k should really only include people who run the 5k as their event and not people who do it for pre season strength.
I think the median would be a fair amount slower. There are a lot of D1 runners on teams who seldom if ever run in meets. Are you including those guys or just the people we can times for?
I think the median would be a fair amount slower. There are a lot of D1 runners on teams who seldom if ever run in meets. Are you including those guys or just the people we can times for?
It you take the 5 top guys, then yes, maybe even faster; but on a roster of 20 runners many will be way slower and they will compete less often, as they won't score. If you add these to the mix., the average is going to drift towards 15:30 or even 16:00.
D1 just represents the size of the school. There are plenty of D1 schools that have crappy running programs. You're definitely wrong on this.
Google:
With 350 member schools, including 23 historically black colleges and universities, Division I schools field more than 6,700 athletics teams and provide opportunities for more than 187,000 student-athletes to compete in NCAA sports each year
At the Division 1 level, 307 universities have cross country teams for men. There are 12.6 scholarships available per team to be divided among the players.
This is from one of the HBCU Division 1 conferences. This is the XC championship for 8K so you can imagine most of the members on the team may barely struggle to break 16 for 5k.
Where do you draw the line for who falls into the subject group?
If you’re specifically a 5k runner you’d be screwing yourself over going D1 if you’re not under 15, but I know lots of 800/1500m types that probably run around 15:30-16:00 and are D1 competitive MD runners. There are probably 1:49 type D1 400/800m runners that would probably brick a 17:00 5k if not slower during track season.
Where do you draw the line for who falls into the subject group?
If you’re specifically a 5k runner you’d be screwing yourself over going D1 if you’re not under 15, but I know lots of 800/1500m types that probably run around 15:30-16:00 and are D1 competitive MD runners. There are probably 1:49 type D1 400/800m runners that would probably brick a 17:00 5k if not slower during track season.
"Screwing yourself over going D1 if you're not under 15"....umm, that represents most high school runners. Very few high schoolers break 15 in the 5k relative to the number of recruiting slots available for XC runners. Many don't break 15 until they get on a college-level training program.
And most of these guys are not going to a powerhouse. The powerhouses already recruit the elite guys running under 14:30 in high school. But There are over 300 D1 schools with cross country teams.
Where do you draw the line for who falls into the subject group?
If you’re specifically a 5k runner you’d be screwing yourself over going D1 if you’re not under 15, but I know lots of 800/1500m types that probably run around 15:30-16:00 and are D1 competitive MD runners. There are probably 1:49 type D1 400/800m runners that would probably brick a 17:00 5k if not slower during track season.
"Screwing yourself over going D1 if you're not under 15"....umm, that represents most high school runners. Very few high schoolers break 15 in the 5k relative to the number of recruiting slots available for XC runners. Many don't break 15 until they get on a college-level training program.
And most of these guys are not going to a powerhouse. The powerhouses already recruit the elite guys running under 14:30 in high school. But There are over 300 D1 schools with cross country teams.
I’m talkin 5k runners specifically. These XC teams are being filled with 800, 1500m and even 1500m/3k guys. Very few of these D1 teams recruit looking to field a team of just 5k-10k guys. A 15:30 guy with 1:55 800m 4:15 mile capability is going to be a lot more useful than a 15:10 2:00+ 4:25 guy.