The short answer
The average 400m time for a 13-year-old is about 65 seconds for boys and 71 for girls, among kids who race it. A good time at 13 is under 61 for boys and 67 for girls. The strongest 13-year-olds run 55 to 57.5 and 61 to 63, and the national class is close to 52 and 58.
Key takeaways
- Typical racing 13-year-olds: 62 to 68 for boys, 68 to 75 for girls
- A 13-year-old who has never raced a 400 usually runs 70 to 85
- Under 57.5 for a boy or 63 for a girl is a USATF 13-14 regional-level mark
- The 400 at 13 is decided in the last 100 meters, where form collapses first
- A 13-year-old's 400 should be about 2.2 times his or her 200m time
What is the average 400m time for a 13-year-old?
The 400 is the race middle schoolers fear and the one that sorts them fastest. At 13 most kids have the speed to run a decent 200 and the aerobic base to jog a mile, and the 400 asks for both at once. Among 13-year-olds who race it, the typical boy runs about 65 seconds and the typical girl about 71, and the middle half of each group sits within three or four seconds of those marks.
The spread inside the age is wide because the 400 rewards training more than raw speed. A 13-year-old who has done a spring of 300m repeats will beat a faster kid who has not. The tiers below put both of them in the right row.
400m benchmarks at age 13
| Tier at age 13 | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| First 400m race, no training | 70 - 78 | 76 - 85 |
| Typical (school or club team) | 62 - 68 | 68 - 75 |
| Good (top quarter of the age) | 58 - 61 | 64 - 67 |
| Strong (USATF regional level) | 55 - 57.5 | 61 - 63 |
| National class for the age | 51.5 - 54 | 57.5 - 60 |
Ages 12, 13 and 14 side by side
The 400 improves about three seconds a year at the typical level through these ages, and faster at the top. The boys' gains come from strength arriving; the girls' come mostly from learning to pace the race, which is why a well-coached 13-year-old girl can run a time the chart says belongs to a 14-year-old.
The 400m at 12, 13 and 14
| Level | Age 12 (B / G) | Age 13 (B / G) | Age 14 (B / G) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical racer | 68 / 74 | 65 / 71 | 62 / 69 |
| Good for the age | 61.5 / 68.5 | 59.5 / 65.5 | 56.5 / 63.5 |
| National class | 55 / 61.5 | 52.8 / 58.8 | 50.5 / 57 |
What national class means at 13-14
In the USATF 13-14 division the boys' 400m national final is typically won under 50 seconds and the girls' under 56. A 13-year-old in either final is racing 14-year-olds and is among the best two dozen in the country for the age group.
Source: USATF National Junior Olympic Championships results
What is a good 400m time for a 13-year-old boy?
Under 61 is good and usually wins a middle school dual meet. Under 57.5 is strong: that boy is qualifying for USATF regional meets and will be a varsity 400 runner as a freshman. The national class is 51.5 to 54, which at 13 is almost always a boy who has already grown. A 13-year-old in the typical 62 to 68 band is exactly where a future high school quarter-miler sits, and the fastest improvement available to him is pacing, not speed.
What is a good 400m time for a 13-year-old girl?
Under 67 is good for a 13-year-old girl and under 63 is strong. The national class runs 57.5 to 60. Girls at this age lose the 400 in the last 100 meters more than boys do, usually because they go out at 200m pace and the stride shortens badly after 250. A girl who runs 70 with an even split will beat a girl who runs 68 for the first 200 and then walks in.
How these numbers were built
- Population. Athletes who raced a timed 400m at a school, club or USATF meet, drawn from Athletic.net and MileSplit season lists. A child who has never raced is usually slower than the first-race row.
- Typical band. The middle 50 percent of that population for the age, rounded to the nearest second (half second at the top).
- Good, strong, national class. Roughly the top 25 percent, top 5 percent and top 0.5 percent of the age. National class is anchored to USATF Junior Olympic final results for the division that contains the age.
- Timing. Fully automatic timing where it exists. Hand times were rounded up by 0.24 seconds, the standard correction.
- Cross-check. Each band was checked against the same athletes' 200m marks; a 400m time should be roughly 2.15 to 2.3 times the 200m time at these ages.
How a 13-year-old takes three seconds off
- Split it 50/50. The first 200 should be only one to two seconds faster than the second. Most 13-year-olds go out four seconds too fast.
- Run 300s. Repeats of 300m at goal pace with full recovery teach the body what the last 100 feels like before race day.
- Keep the arms. When the arms start crossing the chest at 300m the stride shortens. Driving the elbows back holds the stride together.
- Film the last 100. The shortening stride, the dropping hips and the tipping head are all visible on one clip, and a 13-year-old who sees it fixes it faster than one who is told.