I am a current 8th grader, with PR's of 4:49i in the mile and 9:31 in the 3000m. When I started running in 6th grade, I thought times like that were some of the best in the nation, and looking back on national and state meets before covid, they were. If you look at recent high level middle school meets such as Nike and New Balance Nationals, Brooks PR, and Hoka FOM, there seems to be an endless amount of 8th graders running sub 4:40 in the mile. This indoor and outdoor season alone, there have been over 25 middle schoolers to run sub 4:40, and 5 under 4:30.
Along with wanting to mention this outstanding depth of youth running in the US, I am curious where it comes from. I use superspikes (though not supershoes), and train about 25-30 miles a week, with 4 hours of cross training. While I don't believe this is a lot of mileage, it is certainly a solid amount when counting the x-training. I am curious if this is due to superspikes, or an increase in middle schoolers running upwards of 45 miles per week.
Can't wait to see what takes Letsrun will have.