Q: OK for 7-year old to run

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Question:

sir you are a lucky man to have a daughter who likes running…….congratulations

Response:

My daughter turned 7.5 this past May. Last summer, my parents moved to the other end of my town, a distance of 2.25 miles. She had occaionally accompanied me on an a hilly mile run. She would run down the hills and walk up the hills while I jogged along with her setting the pace. During one of these "runs" we spoke of what it would be like to run to her grandparent’s place. She knew it was far and wondered if she could do it. She then asked, "if I did it, could I get a trophy?" I told her that to undertake such a goal would be a really important decision and that if she completed the run, I would gladly get her a trophy. The next day she said she wanted the trophy. We talked about setting up a running plan. We started out on the same hilly course that she knew. We only ran on Sunday mornings. Over the course of four months, she had stopped walking up the hills and was able to run the entire course in about 20 minutes. On these runs, we would talk about what we saw-flowers, animals (a local family of "wild" cats proved endlessly fascinating), the river, the clouds, family stuff-anything to keep our legs moving. I must be honest and say that more than a few times she moaned and complained about "why do I have to do this?" I would remind her that she said she wanted the trophy. This usually silenced her. I thought she would be able to make the run last Fall but it didn’t happened. I didn’t admonish her, rather I congratulated her on doing the hilly mile. When Spring came, she really wanted to give it a try. We ran 4 Sundays in a row. The hilly run was now stretched to 1.5-ish miles. It was taking us a sluggish 25 minutes. On the 2nd Sunday in May, we got up at 6:30, ate a light breakfast, did our stretching and at 6:50am, we were off. My wife, my parents, and my younger daughter (she’s 5) agreed to meet in front on my parents house at 7:30 for the trophy presentation. I figured 40 minutes would be plenty of time. I must say, my daughter was really into the run. She did our mile run in 12 minutes. She did the 2nd mile-including two long inclines-in less time than the first-11 minutes. She sprinted up the hill to my parents place-the last .25 miles-and crossed the line in 26-27 minutes. She had done it. Only trouble was, no one was there! Everyone was still inside thinking that they had another 10 minutes-my wife was still setting up the video camera-my folks were making coffee and the 5yr old was watching TV. Bottom line: the challenge was her’s. She wanted the trophy and she has it. She still occasionally jogs with me-fact is, now that she can ride a bike-she rides while I run. And man, she sets a much faster pace. Just one Dad’s story. -Rob

Response:

George, My 6-year old daughter enjoys running occassionally, has entered some kid’s kilometer races & some youth track meets. I definitely abide by the rule that kids should be open to do most any sport they want, as long as it is FUN & no one is pushing them. That is how I was brought up. My daughter ‘discovered’ running during soccer pratice when she was 4 & the coach had them run laps around the field after practice. The first time they ran, my daughter was so far ahead of the others, I thought she was going to ‘crash & burn’, but she kept going & even ran 3 extra laps! I was pleasantly amazed. I asked her why sher kept going? She said it was "fun". The other parents were saying ’she needs to run track’. Being an old runner myself, I agreed. I wasn’t running at the time (recovering from back surgery), but when I unpacked my medals & trophies from youth/HS/college days, I think that motivated her even more. Also, my mother & brother were runners, so it must be something in the blood. Almost a couple of years later, I’m back to running & I let my daughter run w/ me when she wants. She has not had any injuries or pressure. I definitely let her call the pace & distance. No intervals, no fartlek, no roads (smooth trails only), just good ol’ running & slow enough so we can chat the whole way. We keep the distance under 2 miles. When she races, it is only in kid’s kilometer races & track events 800 meters & under. This is also mixed in with soccer, softball, swimming, & basketball, so she is not running all year long. Which keeps it very interesting for her. Enjoy, Steve

Response:

Thanks for your advice. I’m not trying to push him into anything. When he wants to run, he’s welcome to run with me; and when he wants to play in the infield with his sister, that’s fine, too. We don’t "train" or do speedwork or anything like that. I just run for the fun of it. My only concern is making sure that he won’t get hurt or injured if he wants to run with me. Again, thanks for your advice. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m not a Dr, but here’s my 2 cents: Children should be as active as they want to be. The warning against children running is more to the point of "training" for running. The rigors of any formal athletic training program on young people can destroy them physically and mentally forever. Let the young ones play, and an occasional, informal run with you won’t hurt. But what will hurt are the speedworks, distances, and hill workouts that are needed to become competitive. At 7, I think 1 mile is a pretty impressive distance.

Response:

This sounds a lot like the way I started running. At the age of 4 I saw my dad running and I asked if I could go out running with him. At first he just took me out on his cool-down runs, but after a few months we started doing all our runs together. I enjoyed it enough that by the age of 7 I was eager to run a marathon. We trained for, and finished, the 1975 Palos Verdes marathon in 3:50:55. My training was exclusively LSD and at most 50 miles/week. Only later (when I was on a x-country team) did my coach add speed work – and then only for a short time just before the national age-group x-country championships. Was this wise? I don’t know, but after running very competitively until I was 10, I burned out. It wasn’t until I was 20 did I once again embrace running as I had before. I am now 30, in good health, no serious injuries to speak of, and my drive for running is stronger than before. If pressed, I would have to say that it probably was not a good idea, but there are times when I look back at what I accomplished and it gives me inspiration. My advice is just don’t push kids too hard, but be supportive it whatever they choose to do. Good luck Eric Huss

Response:

I have a question about whether children should run. I run at a local high school track. My 7-year old son wants to start running with me. We’ve tried it a few times, and he can run a mile at a slow pace. I heard somewhere that children shouldn’t run long distances–something to do with the fact that their bodies, bones, etc., are not yet fully formed. Is this true? Should he not be running with me? If it’s OK for him to run, does anyone know of a running shoe that’s made for children? We’ve tried on running shoes at local stores, and he can fit in some of the women’s shoes, but we haven’t found anything specifically for kids. Any advice? Thanks for any responses.

Response:

I’m not a Dr, but here’s my 2 cents: Children should be as active as they want to be. The warning against children running is more to the point of "training" for running. The rigors of any formal athletic training program on young people can destroy them physically and mentally forever. Let the young ones play, and an occasional, informal run with you won’t hurt. But what will hurt are the speedworks, distances, and hill workouts that are needed to become competitive. At 7, I think 1 mile is a pretty impressive distance.

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