Help- Can't run outside

Do you live in a cage in the basement??

That is a bad situation. Ask if you can use a gym membership? Does your school have a gym? See if your parents can relent and let you do simple, safe routes near your house. You can do all the exercises and stair running you want in your house, but it's not going to be as helpful as running outside or on a treadmill. Good luck!

Are you a boy or girl? I ask because at the risk of sounding sexist, I can at least see your parents' point of view if you're a girl without agreeing with it, but if you're a boy they're really off the chart on the overprotective scale.

In either case, maybe you have some friends who are allowed to run outside whose parents could assure yours that the risk is acceptable. Or maybe your parents would be OK with you running outside if you were with those friends. Could you get your parents or possibly a sibling to ride alongside you on a bike as you run?

If none of those things are possible you're in a tough spot. Does your school have a track you could run on that your parents would be OK with? Could you run in the school's hallways? That's a staple of a lot of indoor high school teams where the winter weather is really bad. Otherwise maybe a health club membership to a club with an indoor track and some treadmills would work. Failing all of that, maybe running up and down the stairs of your house is the answer. It will be repetitive but maybe it will drive your parents crazy enough that they'll let you run outside.

Thanks to all of you for replying.

My dad is okay with me running outside but my mom isn't. You probably know who always wins the arguments.

I don't think going to the gym will be an option as the nearby gym doesn't offer memberships to people my age.

None of my friends like to run or bike. My dad does run sometimes but he doesn't run often because he's always busy. Occasionally he'll take me for a run but only like twice a month or something.

As for indoor tracks, I'd have to walk there by myself so that wouldn't be an option.

Do you guys think that running in my house would at least help a little?

And by the way, I'm a 13 year old girl.

1 mile = 294 laps around my coffee table...I discovered this last year during hurricane Sandy.

wow. Can you join a team? your high school team or whatever. Other options would be find a track to run around where they can watch you for awhile. Even a soccer field or route they can see you go around. I hope they at least will support this idea. That's irritating but if you live in a bad area I can understand. I always ran with my team but I remember my parents not letting us run on back roads or trails if we were alone.

pirunner333 wrote:

Thanks to all of you for replying.

My dad is okay with me running outside but my mom isn't. You probably know who always wins the arguments.

I don't think going to the gym will be an option as the nearby gym doesn't offer memberships to people my age.

None of my friends like to run or bike. My dad does run sometimes but he doesn't run often because he's always busy. Occasionally he'll take me for a run but only like twice a month or something.

As for indoor tracks, I'd have to walk there by myself so that wouldn't be an option.

Do you guys think that running in my house would at least help a little?

And by the way, I'm a 13 year old girl.

No, running in your house would be pretty terrible. Good way to get hurt. What I would honestly do in this case as a 13 year old girl is lie to my parents and tell them I'm doing some after-school activity, but instead go for a run near the school, find a place to shower, and then get picked up after. But that's risky.

Would running in a group help? Find a local running club and join it. Go running with some people in that club. Have your parents come meet them so they know they are not bad people. Then you won't be running alone outside.

0.2/10

running inside just seems silly and neurotic unless on a treadmill. Your mom should take you to a track and she can read or whatever while you run. Even a park. If it's cold where you live then a field she can sit in the car while you run. That's the least she can do. The best idea is join your team in high school for organized running with coaches and teammates.

consider.... wrote:

running inside just seems silly and neurotic unless on a treadmill. Your mom should take you to a track and she can read or whatever while you run. Even a park. If it's cold where you live then a field she can sit in the car while you run. That's the least she can do. The best idea is join your team in high school for organized running with coaches and teammates.

She said she's trying to make her high school team. That implies that she doesn't think she can currently run for them, or that she's not in high school yet (I was in the 8th grade when I was 13).

Are there any running clubs in your area? If you join one they'll have people you can run with. What if you ran around your block, say on a course that would bring you past your house every five minutes or so? Your parents could see you come by every few minutes and know you were OK. Or you could ask for a treadmill for your birthday or for Christmas?

Failing all of that, do a web search for Walter George. He had the world mile record in the late 19th century and because of work was very limited as to how he could train. He developed a routine that he called the "Hundred Up" which essentially was running in place with a high knee lift for 100 strides with each leg. He was a pharmacist and did the Hundred Up in the pharmacy. It must have done some good.

pirunner333 wrote:

I apologize in advance if I have posted this in the wrong forum. I'm new here so I don't really know this site very well.

I want to make the track team in high school but right now I'm just an above average runner. I want to improve my endurance but my overprotective parents won't let me run outside because they think I'm going to get mugged or something.

How can I build endurance if I can't run outside? Will running inside the house work even though I'll have to keep on turning? Will climbing the stairs help? And we don't have a treadmill, by the way. Ugh, I am so frustrated with my parents right now.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm afraid I'm in agreement with your parents. I suggest you look around for a local running club. If there is one, you should be able to find other people to run with you.

You might also see if you can run with some of the HS girls.

Run some laps around the school hallways.

Ask you parents to go for a walk in the park while you run laps.

Run laps at the track while your parents walk in the outer lanes.

Run with a dog.

I used to be in the same boat (im a guy btw) in grade 9 my parents would only let me run at the track when they could watch me or around the field during my sisters soccer games or at xc and track practice with lots of people. this is what i would do:

1) try talking to your hs or elementary xc coach and/or try to see if you can get the team or any runners you can together and meet at a local track at a set time twice a week. (try and get a ride from someone) I never really had any friends who ran, but in hs i meet some of my best friends on the track and cross country teams. Don't be shy talk to people, maybe convince some of your friends to run. Im setting that up right now with a lot of runners at my school. everyone can run regardless of speed the slower people can run with the faster people then take a break and join in later.

2)try and run just right infront of your house just back and forth to a set point your parents are comfortable with

3)i used to run in my big backyard (1 lap=100m). if you have a backyard it would sure beat running in the house.

5) if all else fails start running (often and it wouldn't hurt to stomp your feet) inside (up and down the stairs or anywear you can it will likely annoy your parents so much they'll let you run outside. but it likely won't physically help you that much, but it'll beat sitting on the coach

6)finally if your parents are resilient start working out, do ab exercises, wall squats, push ups, jumping jacks, skip rope, plyometrics) it'll help so that when you join x-c (where i go as long as you show up to practice and run you are on the team) you will be able to handle the workouts and runs you'll have to do maybe not as fast as others but you'll be in decent shape.

Hope this helps! Best of luck!

I started running when I was 14 and know where you're coming from. At the time I hated them being overprotective, but now that I'm older I understand why. I'm not so worried about a random stranger attacking me. Sure, that happens on rare occasion, but there are plenty of other reasons not to run alone. For example, you could get fall and injure yourself, get lost, etc. These are my suggestions:

1) Find a running group. Most towns have them. You could also contact the coach at the high school to see if you can train with them. My high school team let junior high kids practice with us.

2) Run at a track and/or around athletic (football, soccer) fields. I did this a lot during winter when I started running because my parents didn't want me running alone in the dark. My dad came with me to the track and walked laps while I ran.

3) Have a parent follow you on a bike or in the car. Mine did this a lot on my long runs because I always insisted on running them out in the country.

4) Run inside your school (after hours). We used to do this when the weather was bad. Super boring, but better than nothing. We also had a big basketball arena with some serious bleachers. I'd run those for "hills."

5) Run around your block or up and down the street. That would get old, but way better than running inside your house. How would you even have room for that? Even prisoners have a little bit of outside space to work out.

6) Join a team at your school. Do you have a track team? Soccer team? At your age, you don't need to do a lot of miles right now. The high school coach won't and shouldn't expect you to be running as much as the older girls. You can be in plenty good shape from playing other sports.

7) If you still want to build endurance, I highly recommend swimming. It will improve your cardiovascular system without taxing your body too much. Trust me, you do not want to overdo the running at age 13 if you plan to run and improve as you get older.

Hey! I'm a HS girl so I understand where your parents are coming from. My parents weren't really comfortable with me running outside by myself for a while, but gradually I gained their trust. When I go on my long runs, my dad rides his bike with me. It's fun for both of us! Here's some things that may help:

-I have a Road ID bracelet that has emergency contact information in case I get hit by a car or pass out or something like that.

-Do loops around your house so your parents will see you whenever you pass

-If your backyard is long enough, you could do a ton of 100m sprints (I know you'll probably hate this)

-Join a team like soccer or basketball. Even if it isn't strictly running, it'll help a lot!

-SWIM! It's just as good as running for building an aerobic base

-If all else fails, you could run stair repeats

Hope this helps and good luck!!! :)

Do you have a hill in front of your house or nearby that your parents would let you run? If so, there are lot of ways to do hill repeats that would not be as monotonous as running around your yard.

For example, you could run up the hill concentrating on knee lift. Then, you could concentrate on striding, almost bounding up the hill. Next, try a very rapid turnover. Next, run up it as fast as you can. Or, you could time yourself and see how quickly you can do 10 reps up and back. Over a few weeks, you could track your improvement. These drills break the monotony of running the same hill over and over, plus they'll make you a better runner.

why aren't you allowed to run outside? Is it cold or something? I'm a 13 yr old girl too so I understand what it feels like

Fun with overprotective mums. Mine still worries if I leave the house after 9PM.

You said that you're an above average runner but want to improve endurance - I'm assuming that you're already able to do some running with a club or at school then? If that's the case, it might actually be good to do another aerobic exercise, perhaps swimming. Swimming is great for working muscles that don't get used so much when you run, and it's non-weightbearing so you're less likely to get injured. There's also no reason why you couldn't do some pool running once you're there.

You could also see about saving up for an exercise bike or elliptical for home - they tend to be much cheaper than treadmills. Unless you live in a really big house I wouldn't suggest running back and forth as I know from experience that the constant turning is really hard on the knees. However, running on the spot might irritate your parents enough to send you outside to run - bonus points if you can mamage to do it in the room above the tv.

I wouldn't advise you to lie about where you're going. If something does happen, nobody will know where you are, and if you get caught your parents will be furious (and possibly ban you from running altogether).