Can my 9 year old girl run a half marathon (not race) with me?

I think that's a little on the young side personally

reasoning?

I mean, I want to hear legitimate reasoning as to why or why not?

No. Have her start with a 5k first.

reasoning? I mean, I want to hear legitimate reasoning as to why or why not?

I have copied below the answer I gave to a father asking about coaching his 6-year-old son for the 400m. the specific reasons why you should not do this are exactly the same as they were for him.

I'm the old-fashioned type who thinks that words have meanings.

play means, participate in a sporting event, a game or race of some kind. kids as young as six can play ball games, have running and swimming races, and they can compete against kids their own age. this is fine.

train means to practice specific skills and develop specific physical characteristics in order to be able to play sport better. it literally means to induce physiological changes that make the person better suited to some specific activity.

the first law of training is the law of specificity. it says that training induces physiological changes in the body that are specific to the training you do. we read this both ways. it means, you become the training you do, and it means that you choose the training that makes you what you want to become.

training, is then not a process but a journey. it takes you from where you are (physically and physiologically) to where you want to be. since your boy is just 6-years-old, you have no idea where you are (physically and physiologically speaking), and you will not know until he is much closer to puberty.

I have been an athletics coach for thirty years, and I have coached pretty much exclusively 14-16 year-old boys for twenty of those years, and it is my considered opinion that no child should commence training until they have been through puberty. the boys I coach do not do event-specific work until their body is ready to commence adjusting to the rigours of their chosen event. it varies from boy to boy, but generally, by the time they are 15, they are ready to START. if you start a boy training at 6-years old, you are essentially trying to mould him before you even know what material you have to work with.

play games, by all means. participate in competitive sports against kids his own age, by all means. just don't do any training for this. make it play, an adventure, a generally fun thing he can do with his dad. but avoid coaching or training or any kind of deliberate attempt to make him better at it until he is a lot older. another eight to ten years older.

cheers.

runwithnataly wrote:

My daughter will be 9 soon

...

Her weekly total max was 16 miles.

She's not even 9 yet? That's a big NO to letting her run that half marathon.

Heck, there are quite a few athletic 12 year olds who've run 20+ MPW regularly that would have trouble finishing a half marathon without walking.

I'm thinking about examples from other sports. When my daughter was 9 she was a level 8 gymnast and practiced more than 15 hours per week. That makes me think letting your daughter run, what, maybe 4-5 hours per week that she'll need to do for a half won't hurt her.

She has a run a 5k and a 10k... both placing first in her age division... what is your reasoning?>

She's 9 in a few days, the half marathon is 5 months away.

Since cottonhead is against it, you can be sure it's ok to do so.

While I agree with the content, I don't believe it's the same as the situation. This is not a competition for her nor a deliberate attempt to make her better at it. She just wants to do it. She has run a 5k and a 10k, placing first in her age divisions, and then decided to run with me on my evening runs, never complaining. I let her set the pace. When she first started, she would usually walk about .10 of a mile between every mile and then push through- however she completes 5-7 mile runs regularly without any issues at around a 9:00-9:15 pace.

I think at this time, I will consult her pediatrician.

That's what I am thinking. I told her if she wants to do this, I will 100% run with her, and if she needs to stop- that is fine, to trust her own body and self. The really cool thing about the "training" schedule is that there are multiple rest days and a few cross training days which she could ride her beloved mountain bike.

She sees it as FUN, and is not intimidated by it at all. My husband isn't concerned, either and my research shows that many kids do it- but I might talk to her pedi first.

runwithnataly wrote:

She has a run a 5k and a 10k... both placing first in her age division... what is your reasoning?>

The 10 and under age division isn’t very competitive... sorry. Running a half marathon at 9 is just begging for stress fractures.

It sounds fine to me from everything you've said. As long as she's enjoying running, wants to keep doing it, and is prepared, why not? The only thing is that she should actually be prepared, like have run at least 11mi in training, and you didn't push her to get to that.

The training required to run a half marathon without walking is probably more of a concern than the half marathon itself. Not many 9 year olds have the capacity to handle the former without getting injured repeatedly.

You also need to consider that kids that young will have to withstand a lot more pounding on their legs since their paces are much slower. An 8 mile easy run for a fit adult runner can be done in less than an hour, while a kid would need an hour and a half to complete that distance at a non-strenuous pace.

Why is everyone so against it?

Kids are strongr than you think. They are designed to run around fir hours on end. What is the big deal about a two hour jog? Just go for it.

runwithnataly wrote:

as we are not running to compete, but to complete :)

What defines completion? Doing a three hour walk-jog-sit down combination on a flat grass track is a whole different thing than a nonstop run on hard asphalt even if you're not running it at 100% effort. The former is fine, but I wouldn't advise the latter for anyone who hasn't hit puberty yet even if success is possible.

Also, what happens if the weather is bad? Will she still run? Will she be trained on how to hydrate and eat during the race (if necessary) without stopping? And if her running pace drops below what is considered to be a fast walk pace for her (12-13 minute miles?) will that still count as a completed run, or is that considered walking?

runwithnataly wrote:

if she needs to stop- that is fine, to trust her own body and self.

She sees it as FUN, and is not intimidated by it at all.

Some kids don't know when to stop, don't want to appear weak, and/or cannot handle failure.

If she gets a blister at mile 3, will she try to run the next 10 miles on that blister, or will she quit and feel really bad about having to drop out?

Rez wrote:

Why is everyone so against it?

Kids are strongr than you think. They are designed to run around fir hours on end. What is the big deal about a two hour jog? Just go for it.

Running around a fir tree for hours would be incredibly boring. ?

Regarding a half marathon...don’t play ball unless there’s grass on the mound.