This thread was revived a couple weeks ago after being dormant for 4 years. So now the kid is 17. How's he doing these days?
This thread was revived a couple weeks ago after being dormant for 4 years. So now the kid is 17. How's he doing these days?
I am 13 and my Mom is in her late 40's I can run 3.5 miles and my Mom can run 8 miles. So i honestly think that the average "kid" should be able to run at least a mile
They can, but they don't.
When I first started running at age 12 or so, I was horribly out of shape after not playing any sports besides a little bit of baseball and basketball. At first, I would jog about 400 meters, walk a little, jog some more, and so on. In a couple months I was running 1.5 miles at 8 minute pace three or four times a week. That year, my mile PR was 6:58. By the end of 8th grade, I had run 4 miles at 8:00 pace off of 5-10 mpw. Now, as a freshman in HS, I run 30-35 mpw and have run a 2:12 800 and 5:19 mile.
I would say that most kids/teenagers could not even come close to running 3 miles. The "athletes" in my age group can run about a 7:30 mile, the somewhat active ones run about 8:00, and the majority run 9:00 or slower. They have grown up in a culture that doesn't put much, if any, emphasis on fitness. To them, if you can shoot a basketball well enough or kick a soccer ball, you're "athletic," but if you can run fast or far it makes no difference to them. I can run circles around almost all of my peers, but I'm not great at team sports, so they have no respect for me as an athlete. My generation really isn't cut out to run at a competitive level because they put too much emphasis on sports like soccer and football.
of course that's normal we have a track team that does six miles per practice even these young 8 year old that we have are doing 3 miles average per workout. and the reason why your son is doing that with ease is because he's not pushing himslf. I can run a 5:11 so if your son is not tired at the end of a mile tell him to go a faster. and I bet he would be closer to a 6 min mile.
Kids can jog 3 miles wrote:
Contrary to what's been said, I think there are many younger kids who can run 3 miles. Our school district sponsors a 5k and lots of the participants are kids 12 and under. We also have a Girls on the Run program for 4th and 5th grade girls, so they've been building up to the 5k. I have kids who started running this race when they were 10, and I wasn't sure if they would be able to make it the whole way, but it wasn't a problem for them, or most of the other kid participants. At the time they had house league type soccer and baseball background. The only running they ever did was around the neighborhood and at recess. When they got to middle school, one of my boys decided he might like to try running as a sport and went out for the XC team. Doesn't run in the winter and has taken up track, which started mid April. They had their first meet and he ran his first timed mile on a track in 5:25. It was a small meet with no competition. If he wants to qualify for the state meet though, he'll have to run a 5:13. Not sure if possible.
The best 5k he has run is 19:20, when he was 12. Hasn't run one since he turned 13. That's okay fast but there are kids faster. All I hear and read is that it doesn't really matter what times are when you are in middle school. He may get faster and he may only show mild improvement.
Those sub 6 kids from no training are one in a million talent. They are not even example worthy when the OP is clearly just talking about where his kid stands within the spectrum of his peers.
90the percentile plus. 7:30-8 pace for an untrained little kid is smoking!!
flounder wrote:
most kids cannot run a half mile without stopping
I couldn't when I was 10. When I was 10 I could only run 200 meters without stopping. Then I got determined and started training every day.
I mean by 200 I could jog more than that but I couldn't run more than 200 at a fast pace.
You say "most" "kids", which is a hell of a generalization. The answer is, no. Most kids can't run 3 miles without stopping.
Later in your message, you imply because your kid can, he might be special. He is not special.
Does he have a "future" in running? No. Pretty much no one does. The sport doesn't pay well, except for the top 0.00001%. I can say with pretty high probability your son is not in that group. Also, to be in that group, you almost always have to sacrifice your values and dope.
In contrast, you have a large number of people on this message board that learned setting goals and working hard to meet them that have become very successful in other areas of their lives. So, running isn't completely valueless. Just not a good career choice.
No.
They will stop and walk, look at their phone, text their friend, take a selfie, etc.
I am 13 year old
3 mile time-18:26
Just saying...
*a 13 year old(see I am bad at grammar)
Father Time wrote:
Just wondering, because my 13-year old son can do this without any training, and I wondered if this means he might have a future in running. He's not fast, (7:30 - 8:00 miles). Can most kids do this without much effort? Seems like hardly anyone can even finish a mile nowadays. Thanks for the input.
If he did that off the bat then that's pretty good, much better than average for Western countries (obviously Kenyan kids run 26 miles to school in 2:15 from the age of 6). Looking at my logs, my son ran 6K (3.7mi) with me when he was 13.5, having done no exercise outside school. It was very slow, 5:48/km (9:20/mi), but he did it without stopping. We did that 2 more times, then did 9.5K (5.9mi) at same kind of pace - he ran it all but was struggling the last 2K. I wish I'd made more effort to get him into running, or any sport, but hindsight is 20:20.