What age to start my kids in running?

the rule of thumb is usually 24-48 hours after they are cut from the JV squad of any given team sport

I'm no expert, but it seems like you could propose some running any time now. From my experience of 9-10 yr olds, though, when they start running is going to be entirely up to them-- they won't do it if they don't want to. While I expect that 95% of kids that age would just start walking if they got tired, you can preserve their health AND promote enjoyment by going on some short runs with them (maybe one mile) as a group. If there's an ice cream shop 1-2 miles away, you could run there as a group, then have a treat and have someone pick you all up. Basically, don't push them to do more than they want, and keep it fun, exciting, and group oriented. Hopefully that will get them fit and promote a love of running!

i started running track when i was in kindergarten. It was just a fun CYO team (practice once a week with a meet on the weekends) I would do road races sometimes with my parents when I got older. Then i ran competitively in highschool and college. I was never really good, but good enough to enjoy racing and get some scholarship. I miss track sooo much. As long as your children continue to love doing it, it doesnt matter when they start.

there is even research that children who start playing sports earlier have less injuries in college. :)

4

Are the Kenyans stopping for ice cream after 1 mile?

Are the Kenyans dominating track?

hmmm...

But I started running as a freshman, and turned out all right, currently running at a DI school. i am not that great though.

Make sure that they are active and play, in a diverse range of activities, early on. Let them develop coordination, agility, strength, etc. Don't become a crazy age-grouper parent. Kids can get a lot of general fitness miles in without having to do structured training and racing at a young age. Vigil has a stat that by the time kids are 18 the Kenyans have thousands of general purpose miles on us. We start from a huge fitness deficit and the gap never closes.

we're gonna need some pics here

I would get them general fitness and then I would run myself and see if they are ever interested in running. I wouldn't push it or try to sell it real hard, though.

this is why wrote:

Are the Kenyans stopping for ice cream after 1 mile?

Are the Kenyans dominating track?

See, the difference-- which you somehow fail to perceive-- is that kids here in America have about a million choices of what sport to play, and the vast majority of them are more glamorous and less taxing than running. In order to hook kids in, it needs ABOVE ALL to be fun at the beginning. Once they're "into" it, we can ramp up the intensity. These kids are 9 and 10, they've got plenty of time. Unless we have a cultural revolution and track/XC becomes as popular as football/basketball/volleyball/baseball/tennis/etc., we're going to have to sacrifice ass-kicking training from birth in order to get the athletic kids into our sport.

I started running at age 10 and at 35 I was still setting pr. At 15 I ran 1.59 for 800m and 20 years later I still ran sub 14 for 5k and low 3.40s for the 1500m. My 800 personal best from 1984was probably better as far as value of performance than any of the later performances, but maybe that's only how far my talent took me. I was never a world beater. But you know what? I had a fulfilling running career and I feel I got a lot out of it. Injury free!!!

The secret? I had a smart coach when I was a kid who got me to do speed drills, strengthening exercices, jumps, leaps, bounds etc. We played fun games such as catch, relays and the occasional game off soccer. (I grew up in Europe)We played aroung with running like it was a fun game

and I developed my mechanics the right way.

The wrong way of introdcing your young kid to running would be making him run some road race. Don't do it!

should have had them doing laps in the crib

my girl started at 5. All discipline kids athletics,

kept at that until she was 15 then started 800/1500 only

work.They usual go 2 times a week and run,jump,throw and

do plyometrics, that's enough for tthe small ones, running

loading for the ones that show a preference for that but not before 12/13. It's a load of junk that you need to train at running only to win silly plastic medals in grade school.My girls is a top rate middle distance runner butshe was still pole vaulting,high jumping and discuss throwing (didn't go far) up till 2 years ago.Plurality

for kids..never fall into the trap of pushing them harder

just to beat the neighbours kids either,all that will come in time.

dreamtheater wrote:

Anyway, what age do I get them to start running and perhaps going to a few 5K's?

12.

kids need to play not compete, the most overlooked problem is strength, as well as being more unfit kids are also considerably weakernow, they don't climb trees, playfight, cycle all day, go hunting, swim as much as they did, its all 'virtual' activity.

4

Do they play any other sports? My recommendation would be to get them involved in other active sports like soccer, football, lacrosse, basketball, etc. so they can at least develop a good basic fitness. Make running a way for them to "practice" sports by helping them be in better shape. Also, how about setting up races between them and their friends whenever they are over? Nothing crazy - maybe one lap around the block? It will be pretty obvious if it's something the kids like or not. Whatever you do, don't force it...just like I'm sure you were different from your dad, they could be a stud outfielder in baseball or a crazy-strong offensive lineman in football - let them experience it all and figure out what they like.

As for the XBOX, why not let them "earn" game time? Or designate certain nights for video games and make other nights "play with dad outside" nights?

my son ran a 10:13 "fun run" mile at 4 years old off the couch. 2 years later he did it again in 6:20. he is now 7 and prides himself in leading the school in the pacer. the only running he does is in p.e. class. he's gonna run some 50 meter dashes this summer at Emory University. the only thing he trains for is basketball. he's got one hell of a cross-over dribble. want to see a video?

but if he chooses to train for distance, he wont do so until 13-14 years old at the earliest.

john A wrote:but if he chooses to train for distance, he wont do so until 13-14 years old at the earliest.

My daughter started training at 13 years old. I spent one year getting her up to 10 miles per week. She was all state for the three years she ran xc in high school and captained her Division I cross country team in college. My son did his first workout at 14. He ran on a Division III team in college.

The interesting thing is that I thought my daughter was a sprinter until she started training. Turned out she was a distance runner with speed. Hard to pick out their event until they mature.

exactly right, the problem is that they ALWAYS come up against kids who are secretly overtraining on the quiet, often triathletes and roadrunners kids.It's real hard to

tell them when they get blown away in the local 2K that

their time will come if they stick at it. I've seen so many come through my coaching groups who look fast but

then i find out they're out doing 10ks with their mum or dad or uncle and they look better than the other kids cos

they're secretly training hard at 10,11,12 years old.

You can usualy tell the real class, when they run 800's

at 14/15 they look fast until about 600 meters but then can't finish, that's because the speed is NATURAL nothing

a coach has worked with them will ever reproduce that.

I've got a boy like that in my group,a couple of years ago when he was 14 he was getting to 600 in about 1.20 but the last 200 were too much for him and he finished in about

1.57/1.58. We worked on that with a lot of hard reps/short

recoverys and he's down to 1.52 now and i'm sure we can find another 3-4 seconds in a couple of years.Natural speed is a great gift,don't blow it away running 10ks (or even 5ks)at 16/17 yrs old.