Track & Field Distance Running Practice Plan for 13 to 15 Year Olds
At 13 to 15, distance training becomes a real week: easy volume as the spine (still talk-test governed), the TEMPO introduction (comfortably-hard, phrases-pace, strictly bounded), the long run as institution, strides and hills as constants, and the long-view rules hardening: growth spurts honored, mileage climbing patiently, racing seasons kept joyful. This session is the week's quality day, structured like the sport actually trains.
This is a 75-minute session with a route, a stopwatch, and the diary-become-log. The teenage distance truth, stated for the wall: the sport's champions are overwhelmingly the ones who DIDN'T over-train at 14: aerobic development compounds across years, injuries compound faster, and the patient log wins the decade. Easy days easy, quality days bounded, sleep enormous.
This plan was written for every 13 to 15 year old. ParentEdge writes one for yours.
Built around their game, their goals, and what they’re working on.
What weekly structure suits a 13 to 15 year old distance runner?
The classic young-runner shape: four to six days with an easy talk-test spine, ONE bounded quality day (tempo or hills), one longer easy run, strides twice, one full rest day, sleep enormous. Mileage grows patiently (never sudden jumps), and school-team demands count inside the same week, not on top of it.
What is tempo and why so bounded?
Comfortably-hard sustained running (phrases-pace): the aerobic system's highest-return stimulus. Bounded (short reps, on-time endings, capable-of-more finishes) because its benefits come from controlled dose while its drift toward racing eats recovery and stalls seasons. One bounded tempo day a week is the teenage sweet spot.
How do teenage distance runners stay healthy through growth?
The compounding rules: volume climbing slowly, easy days genuinely easy, whispers honored immediately (heels, knees, shins get instant respect), shoes fresh, sleep treated as training, and racing seasons kept joyful rather than year-round. The champions of 22 are overwhelmingly the healthy 15-year-olds; the log's job is protecting that kid.