How much will cross country help me with my 800 and 400 time?

Question

So last year I had a 2:40 800 and 65 400 but this year I have shin splints and am not able to run well. I ran a 2:55 800 and a 68 400. How much do you think cross country will help? Will it help me with speed also?

Answer 1

Running cross country will help your strength, but not your speed.

You need to do faster training along with the cross country training.

It is difficult to say how much improvement you could have by running distance in the off season.

If you are going to run with the cross country team you should also do speed work once each week along with plyometrics and weights.

Answer 2

i took cross country when i was a sophomore in high school and i also did football at the same time. It helped me soo much i was able to have so much energy during the whole season and i kept at it until track and i realized i was quicker, faster and more in shape and it helped me run pretty well. I think I ran like a 54 in the 400. I never ran the 800 but my friend ran it and he was also in cross country and i know he ran like about 2:20 or something. He was really good. So i suggest doing cross country. It helps out a lot

Answer 3

I ran the same events as you during track and I also ran cross country.  Cross Country will help a lot for your endurance and strength.  It will help you create a nice base to start off with for track.  It most likely will not help with speed, unless you do speed workouts as well during cross country.

However, if you have shin splints that have not healed, you may want to reduce your mileage until it has healed, so you will not be injured during track.  It does not matter how much of a base you have, if you are injured, your times will suffer.

I'm not sure what grade you are in, but when I was in high school my fastest 800 was 2:20 and my fastest 400 was 60.  I ran track and cross country in college on a scholarship.  Cross Country really helped improve my track times.  My fastest 800 was 2:09 and my fastest 400 was 55.  

Good luck!

Answer 4

i run cross country and track and it helps alto ... i don't know how to explain it .. but it help ..because your running long distance it help

Answer 5

It'll help with enducrance but cross country does take away from your speed. Try and do some intervals and speed training while running to keep your speed up.