<p>If you ran a 4:30 mile in 8th grade, then you should put a little more time into that. By your senior year you would be likely be around low 4 minutes, which would get you a scholarship to Stanford, Duke, etc. (good schools that have athletic scholarships).</p>
<p>A friend of mine ran a 4:35 mile in 8th grade and received a full scholarship to Tennesseee, where he won the mile for the Southeastern Conference and was All-American (best time was 4:00:0.1, i.e. never broke the 4 minute mile). He is now an engineering professor.</p>