9 year old girl runs 3 minutes for 800m

that would be fairly common for that age. Encourage her to keep running but she's not the next Mary Decker.

gold counter wrote:

that would be fairly common for that age. Encourage her to keep running but she's not the next Mary Decker.

No it's not. She has got some talent. If she enjoys running maybe try out a youth track program in your area. They aren't evil and the next several posts will say.

3:00 for a 9 year old isn't phenomenal, but it's certainly a good time. Besides that, phenomenal times at a young age aren't necessarily indicators of future stardom. Your daughter could respond well to some training and develop very nicely over the next few years to become a fine young runner.

Alot of posters will probably respond by telling you not to put her in any youth track programs because training a 9 year old is evil. But alot of those kids in youth programs have alot of fun, and "training" might involve games like freeze tag. So if your daughter actually enjoys running and racing go for it. As long as you aren't forcing her and overtraining her. Alot of parents think their child is the next Olympic star and put alot of pressure on the child. This typically just results in the child being physically and mentally burned out by the time they graduate high school and they don't end up making much of a splash on the college scene.

Basically what I'm saying is: Your daughter has talent, so it's ok to encourage her to develop that talent. Just don't get rabid about it and make her young life miserable. Kids should be kids.

i agree - kids should have fun with sport with no pressure. soccer is her thing, not track. she ran this 800m at a kids fun track day and quite liked it so may take it up sometime but that will be her choice, not mine. it just struck me that 3.00 for 800m seemed quite brisk for a small child, especially as she had no idea what pace she should be running and stopped only when told after 2 laps - she was happy to keep going...

It's a good time, but I agree, don't go crazy with training. Keep it fun.

My daughter ran about the same time at that age. She's now 11 and runs 2:45 for 800. She does some low-key kids track meets and also plays travel soccer.

Encourage her to be an athlete, not just a runner and let the athletic chips fall where they may. If my kids are still involved in some sort of athletics when they get to college, then I know I've done part of my job as a dad.

Good luck.

Jordan Hasay ran a 6:16 mile in the 4th grade and her teacher encouraged her to run track. 3:00 for a 800 is half of a mile and it shows she has natural aerobic ability. It is true you can't tell where she will end up looking at where she is now but it definitely shows potential.

If she's into soccer that should translate well to good track times if she chooses to make the transition, or do both. Soccer isn't great training for long distance running, but it's pretty good training for middle distance events like the 800. For the time being she could just stick with soccer, and if she decides to enter the occasional fun run she would just need to learn how to pace herself properly for the race.

damn that is a very good time and who knows she just might turn out to be the next mary decker

i couldnt agree more - the fact that she wants to a soprt - any sport - and not sit on her ass watching TV is all that matters right now...

lardy rather have her running 600m than 800

The 2004 Olympic champion couldn't break 2 minutes for 600m when he first ran the distance, he did however return 2 weeks (something like that) later to go sub 2min and this was when he was 10

often girls develop quicker than boys at that age, so again difficult to judge especially if a girl's future is determined once puberty sets in.

So don't get too excited as girls have a difficult transition from girl to womanhood

Well she's faster than most of the posters on here.

Careful, if she runs any faster, someone will suggest EPO!

Cool she is NINE!! Come back on in 10 years and tell me how she is doing then.

every here are idiots....if your 9 year old seriously ran 3 minutes for 800 meters that is pretty damn good. in fact, very good. however, this doesn't necessarily mean she is gonna be a world beater when she matures. but still, this is something to brag about.

agreed - no telling how kids mature. She may end up doing nothing - her choice. I remember Seb Coe once saying he didnt run a step until he was 14. He didnt turn out too bad. One dad near where I live makes his 10 year old son run all over at 10k races etc etc. Surprise Surprise - the kid is injured and hates running now. if my daughter wants to get into track, that would be great, but i wont ever push her.

My 5 yo grandson is doing the same with a cast on his arm. Like your daughter, I had to tell him when to stop else he would have run another couple of laps.

So.. I am 9 years old and in my 800-meter race I ran 2:56.60 time. Is that bad or good for a 9-year-old?

#needshelp

Pretty decent, but nothing remarkable. Let her keep running and she could become a very solid runner as she matures.