Training Suggestions By Age Group
Listed below are the distances by age group of The River City Kids Running Series and then some training suggestions for the different ages:
3 and Under-----50 Meters (roughly half a football field)
4 and 5----------100 Meters (roughly full length of football field)
6, 7--------------200 Meters (half a lap around a standard high school track)
8, 9 ----------- -400 Meters (full lap around a standard high school track = Ό mile)
10,11-----------800 Meters (two full laps, around a standard high school track = ½ mile)
Ages 0 4: Have fun! At this age, there is no need to have a structured running program. Be sure your child has plenty of age appropriate physical activity such as access to play grounds, balls, bouncy toys, doll strollers or small carts to push, etc. As with all kids, keep exercise fun so that they will learn to love it as they get older.
Ages 5 9: Again, keep it fun! The main key is to make sure your child gets the minimum government recommended exercise of 60 minutes a day. This includes just about all playing outside from tag, to playing on a play ground, to bike riding. If you encourage your kids to play outside (with supervision) on nicer days, they are bound to find activities on their own that count as exercise. On bad weather days, some video games (in moderation) that require you to stay on your feet and move around can also count such as Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Sports. The links listed further below also include many suggestions on running games. If your child likes to run, feel free to take them to a local track periodically, but keep activities non-competitive. At this age, children can begin to train for the mile races. For races longer than the kids distances (more than 400 meters or one lap around a track) encourage your child to take walk breaks when they get tired. Use a rule such as counting twenty walking steps before running again.
Ages 10 11: Guess what? Keep it fun! As long as the kids enjoy it, they are old enough to handle a more regular training program. For beginner runners, have your child follow a 1:1 training program, running 3 to 4 times a week. This means running for a set time (say 1 minute) and walk for the same amount of time. If they can handle running 4 minutes at a time, then let them walk for 4 minutes after. The nice thing about using time instead of distance is that the kids can do it anywhere: around the block, or up and down a quiet street. Each day they run, have them repeat the 1:1 routine for 4 to 6 sets, not to exceed thirty total minutes. As they get stronger, they can change the program to a 2:1 (i.e. 2 minutes running for each one minute walked), 3:1, and finally 4:1 program, changing no more than once a week, and not increasing the total distance by more than 10% per week. By the time they have progressed to the 4:1, they should be able to run their race distance of 800 meters, or half a mile, straight without walk breaks. Once they can complete an 800 meter run, they can practice running the 800 straight and focus more on speed and pacing for the whole distance.
For those children that do not quite have the passion for a regular program, the recommendations for ages 5 9 are a great starting point. In addition, involving your child in an organized sport with running such as soccer or basketball will help them in races, as well as with their overall fitness.
Heres a list of websites that may help all age groups too:
Websites- http://www.kidsrunning.com
http://www.runtheplanet.com/trainingracing/training/kids/
http://www.mypyramid.gov/ (nutrition information)
Please find below some general tips for helping your young runner:
1. Be a good role model: The most important thing you can do is enjoy running and express that joy without forcing the issue. Younger kids especially love to emulate their parents. They'll pick up your positive vibes and want to become runners too. Run with them as much as you can.
2. Let them set their own pace: If it's raining and they'd rather play Nintendo instead of doing that 2-mile run you have scheduled for them, relax. Don't push them out the door. Let them decide their own level of participation--with guidance, of course.
3. Don't overtrain or overrace them: Overtraining doesn't work for you; it won't work for them. Keep distances short. Except for the most gifted, 15 miles a week is a good top limit, 5-K races are far enough. Marathons are probably too far for most children.
4. Shoes According to Runners World, a leading running magazine, school-age children (5 or 6) that do any kind of structured running should be fitted for appropriate running shoes at a specialty running store. On The Run and Walk on Emerson Av in Parkersburg (across from the Library) is a local store that River City Runners Club works closely with and relies on.
5. Warm up and stretch Although kids are naturally limber and less prone to injury, warming up and stretching will help prevent problems in the short term, as well as develop good habits for the long term. Warm up before stretching as warmer muscles are safer and easier to stretch. A good warm up should last 5 to ten minutes and be low intensity, such as a walk or slow jog. The website, http://www.kidsrunning.com/ask/krask0506stretchrw.html, has some good stretches.