In 2002 this little girl ran pretty well. I don't know where she is going to college yet. She hasn't run it while in high school but I think she will be OK:
Amy M Hamilton Age 12 F F0112 overall 261 of 30,000 Age group 1/111 Female 16/11447 Time 1:26:19
Just shouldn't push them
Experienced wrote:
I think the biggest issue is burnout. I read once that the average span for a kid's interest in a sport is 4-6 years, then they quit because they are sick of it.
If you truly love running enough to want to do a half marathon at age 13, then you are not simply going to burn out of it in 4-6 years! Running is a sport that you do all your life, unlike team sports that are only continued by a child if they are special enough to go to college/pros. Any other runner would agree that you aren't simply going to "burnout of it".
I am 14 years old and I just completed my second FULL marathon and have ran many halfs. It is only bad if you do not train for it. I am still perfectly fine and alive ahah.
One more anecdote: I ran my first half at 14. I ran I think 1:37. I was trained and prepared, and really enjoyed it. I still remember the strong feelings of self-esteem I got from it; 14 can be a difficult time. If the kid is sufficiently trained and has the right attitude, go for it.
(36 now. Still racing, no burnout. Lifetime half PR of 1:21. Which is slow for this board, but maybe relevant to show that I kept running and learned more and got faster.)
I find the idea of racing on the road during XC season or T&F season selfish! I had XC teammates who raced Twin Cities Marathon. They'd do it every year. Every season they were ruined post Marathon. Kids can wait to race on the roads until they have gone as far as one can go with their XC and T&F in high school or college.
desert rodent wrote:
Question about young runners wrote:I have a friend and their son is 13 years old and will be 14 when the half marathon rolls around. He wants to train and run the half marathon. He doesn't have a lot of experience as a runner yet but I wanted to know if there are any concerns for someone his age running the half marathon. Is he too young? Any serious thoughts and opinions or even any studies on this?
Which 1/2 marathon are we talking about? No this 14 yo is not too young to run the half....the half mile, that is. Abso-bloody-lutely ridiculuous. It never ceases to amaze me how newbies to running nowadays stampede straight to the marathons; from zero to 26 (or in this case 13). In the old days you graduated (as in gradual) to the longer distances as your speed began to dissipate (sp). Before big $$$ in elite marathons, MOST marathoners were in their thirties. A prime example is Rod Dixon of moving up through the distances (altho I feel he didn't give the 10,000 on the track a real shot, but I digress). Christ Almighty, what is this 14 yo going to be racing in his thirties...the 50 mile? And all of you who have posted here "well I ran 1/2 marathon at 14" what GOOD did it do you, in the short, or long run? (Excuse the pun). I am in staggered disbelief that I am the only one posting here who is VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED to this. What the hell is wrong with you people??? And those who say, just run it...hello, this is a RACE; don't toe the line if you don't intend to race. JEEZ. Another thing - roadracing is something you do AFTER college. Can't this kid find enough X-C and track events at the school level??
At the risk of repeating myself; what the hell is wrong with you people giving this kid the green light on this thing....un-fricking-believable.
I have no axe to grind about your rant, but you are wrong about marathoners ages before the money marathons. Look up results to Boston, or the OTC marathon, or Fukuoka, or NYC. You can see the ages of the guys sometimes. Across the board MOST of the guys are 20-26 and a few of the sub-2:30 (like 20%) are 18-19 and 26-30. Just a small fraction are outside of that.
I was 11 when I started running in 1978 and paid attention to that stuff.
Question about young runners wrote:
I have a friend and their son is 13 years old and will be 14 when the half marathon rolls around. He wants to train and run the half marathon. He doesn't have a lot of experience as a runner yet but I wanted to know if there are any concerns for someone his age running the half marathon. Is he too young? Any serious thoughts and opinions or even any studies on this?
my question what does ' He doesn't have a lot of experience as a runner yet' mean he hasnt started running or just started if that is the case it be more sensible not do do a half but as lots of posters have said its deffiantly possible its just there dosnt seem to be much point.
Hello. My name is Jude. I ran my first half when I was 12. Now i’m 14 and I ran my second this year. It really just comes down to the level of discipline in the child to keep training at those distances week after week. Once you’ve finished your training the race itself is a breeze. It takes a ton of time and energy but if you want it bad enough there are no physical limitations. Running is all mental!