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?
With more experience i don't think it'd be a problem. I raced a 12 miler when I was 14...but I had also been road racing since I was 11, mostly 5K's but some 5 milers and had done one 10 mile a couple months before. It mostly depends on the kids athletic background I guess.
I ran a half-marathon when I was 15 (barely) and I had only been running for 8 months, and I am not dead.
13 might be a little young, but maybe not, if they have the training background. To me, the training background is more important than the chronological age.
Sean Nunn
Raytown South
to run it, no... to race it, yes.
It is definitely possible. I am 30 and still run everyday, before age 10 I ran several half-marathons. Other young runners have done the same.
The problems for me (and others) were adding around 80 pounds of natural development from age 10 to 17 and racing too much. Also, I thought I was the best until around age 14 and then had to realize it was easier to run at 90 lbs then at 140 and now 180. If I knew how to train back then instead of just race things may have been easier and I would have stuck with running more in high school and early college.
The main criticisms are racing too much. ScottH has done a lot of questioning to younger runners who have "burned out" or quit. Maybe he'll write some. I believe he recommends only around 3 races a year and shorter ones for the younger athletes.
My opinion would be either someone has to mandate the kid runs something shorter or hopefully he is well trained to run this distance without huge struggles and have fun with it.
My daughter and a friend (both 13) ran a half as a fun run, time was about 2 hrs.
Both girls have run numerous 5,8, and 10K's, and have competed in JO cross country and track since age 9-10.
They had a great time doing the half.
Not too young... But as with every other answer it depends if has been running a bit and is willing to put in a bit extra why not... ran my first marathon at age 15 in 1984 and I am still running them so it can't be all that bad... Good Luck
14 years old is definintly old enough to cover the distance. when i was a freshmen in highschool my coach let me and another kid who was 15 on the team run a half marathon on a weekend we didn't have a race, but told us to keep it at a medium to medium hard effort, definintly not going all out. I handled it fine. I believe the coach has sence ended this practice because some guys have tended to get caught up in the race and go all out.
I ran a 1:21 half at 14 without killing myself. Wouldn't recommend anything longer or that the results good or bad be taken too seriously.....
Not too long at all. Many 14 year olds are running 50+ miles a week these days. Smart training while making that half the longest run to date -- no problem at all.
Not too you - he needs to prepare for it adequately though. Maybe he should race something in the 10K variety first, if he hasn't already.
I did some half marathons when I was that age, some were pretty decent too.
I did a half- marathon right after my 14th birthday, and while I was pretty sore afterwards, it did not hurt me at all.
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.
desert rodent wrote, "And those who say, just run it...hello, this is a RACE; don't toe the line if you don't intend to race."
Tell that to 99% of all people who enter roadraces, OR HAVE YOU ALREADY?
I did a half marathon when I was thirteen in 1:42 and now I am running Division 1 cross country and track and field, so there 14 is definitely not too young. The furthest I had run before this was seven miles and therefore made it a very stupid decision, but if this child has been doing enough running, there should be no problem.
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.
13 year old half marathon wrote:
I did a half marathon when I was thirteen in 1:42 and now I am running Division 1 cross country and track and field, so there 14 is definitely not too young. The furthest I had run before this was seven miles and therefore made it a very stupid decision, but if this child has been doing enough running, there should be no problem.
My point being: did that 1/2 marathon aid or enhance you any as a runner? Me thinks not. You yourself admit that in hindsight your 1/2 marathon was sheer folly.
Alpha - hopefully at least 50%, if not more, enter a race to run to their best efforts (I don't see the point of racing otherwise). From a running purist's viewpoint, I am not so keen on a newbie runner's first competitive race being a marathon. A sad indictment on modern society - the quick fix.
I ran a marathon at 14. Another at 15. Another at 16.
Was this a mistake?
Note: I ran the first one off of very little training (30 mpw with a long run of 30k one month beforehand). The second two were true efforts as I was aiming to run a QT for Boston (sub 3:10).
1st- 3:31
2nd- 3:07
3rd- 2:44
I still run recreationally and have not noticed anything physically wrong with me as a result of my marathoning. Was I lucky or are we too cautious with youngsters running long distances?
NO! As long as the self motivation is there and the proper train done.I did lots of miles at that age, with my 1st marathon at 16. 41 now....60 miles a week still and going strong!
It won't make any difference if he runs or not. A half can beat you up a bit if you're not ready but that's about it. I think it is more important to continue racing at a wide range of distances rather than getting stuck at one thing.
I ran long and short races as a kid and have kept doing the same thing into my thirties. I ran a 59 minute 15km at 15 and ran my pb's for every distance from 800 to the half at 32-33. So it certainly doesn't destroy you for good.