Maximum Mileage in High School???

few kids should be going over 70-80mpw.

workouts over the summer? bunch of 10s hills, eepeat miles/25 min runs at 5k pace+ 30s, and if you want some 1ks at 5k+10s. Then sharpen over the last 12 weeks of XC.

A lot of coaches nowadays push mileage on high schoolers. It has produced a lot of good results. Although, a lot of kids running high mileage in high school don't improve as much once they get to college because they have already realized a lot of their potential. As a junior or senior, you can probably handle the additional mileage better, as you are close to being finished with most of your growth (running a lot of mileage at too young an age can put you at increased risk of stress fractures later in life if you are getting insufficient caloric or calcium intake for the demand you are putting on your body when your bones are growing) . The key is to be smart in how you go about increasing your mileage. Increase gradually and try to run on softer trails. Don't go from 20 to 80 in a week or you will pay the price.

There's no overall maximum for high schoolers. In the 60s and 70s you could find some doing 100 mile weeks or more. There would be an individual maximum but it's not possible to give a number there because it depends on the runner. And in high school you probably should be doing the workouts your coach gives you.

Impossible to answer without knowing what your goals are.

For MOST HS runners, unless you're looking to win a state championship or get a D1 scholarship, your main goal in HS school is having a balanced schedule and setting yourself up for a meaningful life of work, fun, friends, travel, and running. Any mileage that interferes with your long term health and happiness is too much, whether because you're overtraining, stressed, or missing out on other experiences.

Personally, I don't see why most high school runners would need to go above 50 mpw, and I think that's already pretty extreme. I think 30-40 mpw would be just fine for the vast majority, and many could likely get away with even less, depending on what their goals were.

Run hard, but have fun. And remember that HS isn't life.

elledrice wrote:

Impossible to answer without knowing what your goals are.

For MOST HS runners, unless you're looking to win a state championship or get a D1 scholarship, your main goal in HS school is having a balanced schedule and setting yourself up for a meaningful life of work, fun, friends, travel, and running. Any mileage that interferes with your long term health and happiness is too much, whether because you're overtraining, stressed, or missing out on other experiences.

Personally, I don't see why most high school runners would need to go above 50 mpw, and I think that's already pretty extreme. I think 30-40 mpw would be just fine for the vast majority, and many could likely get away with even less, depending on what their goals were.

Run hard, but have fun. And remember that HS isn't life.

at 35 mpw you run a 18min 5k. at 50 you will run a 1630. Up to you if that type of performance difference matters. And we are talking like 1 hour/day. Leaves plenty of time for other things.

35 mpw for 18:00? ??

elledrice wrote:

Impossible to answer without knowing what your goals are.

For MOST HS runners, unless you're looking to win a state championship or get a D1 scholarship, your main goal in HS school is having a balanced schedule and setting yourself up for a meaningful life of work, fun, friends, travel, and running. Any mileage that interferes with your long term health and happiness is too much, whether because you're overtraining, stressed, or missing out on other experiences.

Personally, I don't see why most high school runners would need to go above 50 mpw, and I think that's already pretty extreme. I think 30-40 mpw would be just fine for the vast majority, and many could likely get away with even less, depending on what their goals were.

Run hard, but have fun. And remember that HS isn't life.

Showing up to every meet and finishing at the middle of the pack blows. I'd rather train hard and have some good memories of racing well, finishing high... but that's just me.

All current HS records 800-5000m are set on moderate mileage 40-70/week.

For most kids, 6 hours of running / week is plenty.

If your focus is 800/1600 closer to 5 hours / week is about right; rather than piling up volume this summer, look to do more running at a stronger overall pace.

ddidididid wrote:

few kids should be going over 70-80mpw.

workouts over the summer? bunch of 10s hills, eepeat miles/25 min runs at 5k pace+ 30s, and if you want some 1ks at 5k+10s. Then sharpen over the last 12 weeks of XC.

This ^

MUCH more effective than 10 mile days, but I've seen 10 mile days work well, too. The above is more sensible.

Not a hard and fast rule but I like 35-45 for girls and 50-60 for boys. It’s enough volume to compete at the state level and show college coaches you can handle some mileage without breaking down but it allows a lot of room fro growth. You can also run that on singles so you can still have balance in your life and get enough sleep pretty easily.

There is no max for anyone in terms of a one size fits all answer at any level. First, the mileage one person thrives on might be too much for another and not enough for yet another.

You need to keep in mind your own capabilities and add volume and intensity in a safe way especially in high school where you are still maturing. And differences in how boys and girls mature is another complicating factor.

Even if "we" say 70 mpw is the max. Well if you are doing 35 then are you going to double it starting tomorrow? That would not be a smart thing to do. Yes, it might work for a few, but the risk seems very, very high and not worth it.

Also more is not always better. There is a "breaking point" for each person. Finding that point is the challenge. Challenge seems like the wrong word instead we want to optimize the training to keep the runner healthy and enjoying running and then to optimize performance.

As for the type of training, well some longer stuff, some medium distance stuff, some low intensity (mostly) and then some higher intensity and then some even higher intensity.

There is another aspect to improving performance and that is rest and recovery. Get sleep, eat well, do some fun things.

I wouldn't have a high schooler go over 80 unless they were nationally competitive. I would say that most high schoolers should peak around 60 miles a week as a senior, but can be higher or lower depending on the athlete. I haven't had the opportunity to run my own program at this point, but I would probably try to scale 30-40-50-60 from freshman to senior year for the "average" athlete. A more talented freshman might be on a 40-50-60-70 path.

Also, aerobic strength does translate to speed. It's a misconception to think it's one or the other unless you're running the 100/200/400. You will benefit from the distance training for 800 and up.

Runningisfun075 wrote:

I'm going into my junior year of high school and this summer my coach has been putting a big emphasis on bringing up my mileage a lot. He also is focused a lot more on endurance training and not speed training. My questions are...

Is their a maximum amount of mileage that high schoolers should do?

And in high school what kind of workouts should I be doing?

You sound critical of your coach already. If he’s had success with athletes in the past then you need to trust him. There is no one easy answer to your question. It all depends.

STRONK wrote:

35 mpw for 18:00? ??

depends on their talent. Some kids will run 20 mins and others will be down at 16. The point is most people are 5-10% faster up at 50mpw than 35. That is the basic secret of all the good high school programs.

It depends on the kid's ability to stay healthy, what works well for them, and their running history.

For most juniors and seniors I'd say about 50-60 mpw for boys (in singles with Sundays off) and 40-50 mpw for girls (in singles with Sundays off). I think that's a good healthy amount at that age that leaves room for improvement but also is enough to run near their potential at that age.

Freshmen and sophomores should be a bit lower and gradually build up to the amounts above with only small increases each season.

p.s. -- My estimates are a bit lower than everyone else's which caused me to reassess, and I realized I left something out of my post -- I was a dual sport athlete who was also playing club soccer.

So yeah, I had decent HS success running 30-40 miles and with pretty amateur coaches (I was still running more than anyone else on the team). But I was also spending my weekends more often than not running up and down the soccer pitch as an outside mid. If you add that into my mileage, I probably was somewhere between 45-55, with those extra miles being ... well, short sprints and jogging/walking on the soccer field.

No, just do not increase so rapidly you hurt yourself.

Whatever works for your development.

If you can barely workout, your mileage is too high.

Honestly, 7. And that's if your'e REALLY hardcore!

you

I second this. Trust and communicate with your coach!