July 10, 2009
July 10, 2009
June 26, 2009
July 7, 2009
July 7, 2009
July 7, 2009
June 23, 2009
June 15, 2009
Consensus: Age 5
I had a quick conversation on Twitter after my most recent post, Race Training Begins, with a couple of local friends to see if their kids would be running on Saturday. The gist of it quickly became: What age should kids start running?
We started Cooper with his first race at age 5, but he’d been my “coach” in the stroller at about age 3. Sarah started at age 9 (at the same race as Cooper), but I wasn’t running much when she was younger. She might have enjoyed it. Leanna has never had any interest in running, and, at 13, I don’t see that changing in the near future. When asked if she wanted to run that race last fall with Cooper and Sarah she responded, “I ran a mile in gym class, that’s enough for me.” Maybe, if I had been running when she was younger, this story would be different also.
So, when should kids start running? I checked the website for the race we’re doing this Saturday, runningkids.net. The youngest runners they let register is age 5. I also checked the Richmond Marathon website. No, kids under 18 don’t run the marathon! The Richmond Times-Dispatch Kids Run is open to ages 5-12. It also looks like the 8k is open to those under age 9, but they don’t specify the youngest age to enter.
A quick trip around Google reveals several pages with varying ages. So, it seems that there isn’t a specific age from this search. Most sites give advice to keep it fun for the kids. Fun, that’s what Sarah and Cooper see in it. We convinced Cooper to race last November by showing him Sarah’s shirt and race bib and letting him know he’d get a medal!
So, get your kids running at any age they show interest. They may not be able to race until they’re 5 years old, but if they want to run when they’re 3, go for it!
This month, I’m beginning my training for the Richmond Marathon. As you may know, I signed up for the marathon immediately after completing the Richmond Half-Marathon last fall. I’m using the intermediate training plan published in Runner’s World.
Training for the marathon is going well so far, but that’s not really what this post is about…
Cooper and Sarah on the 4th
Cooper and Sarah are all signed up to run the Running Kids Running Event on Saturday, July 11 at Runner Bills. Cooper will run 1 mile (and I’ll run with him) while Sarah goes on to complete her longest race ever at 2 miles. I’ve actually run on most of the course that they’ll be using this Saturday, and it’s a fairly flat course.
Running Kids Course Map
To train for this event, Sarah walked 1.5 miles this past Saturday in the Brandermill 4th of July Parade while carrying a bag of candy and a water gun! Tonight, I plan to take her and Cooper out for at least a mile run. Maybe two miles for Sarah. I think tonight would be our last opportunity to get a full distance run in before Saturday’s event. Got to rest up for the big event!
I don’t currently have any other events on Cooper’s race calendar, but Sarah and I will finish the summer with the Powhatan Village Run 5k on September 5th. The Powhatan YMCA has added three Parent/Child divisions to this race for 2009, and Sarah and I will enter the Elementary division. I’m really excited about this event, because most of the races I’ve found for Sarah are also short enough for Cooper. Since Cooper is smaller and likes to run as fast as he can, I have to stay with him to slow his pace or he’ll use up all his energy before the half way mark! This will be the first race that is just Sarah and I, and I’m really looking forward to running it with her.
The other big race I’m doing soon, that I haven’t trained for AT ALL is an adult relay at this Tuesday’s Brandermill Makos swim meet against Stonehenge. They haven’t let us know yet whether or not the relay is just freestyle or medley. I’m secretly hoping for a medley relay, because I’d like to see if I can still finish 50 meters of butterfly!
June 9, 2009
June 3, 2009
Run on Sat, Mar 13
7.01 mi in 67:23 (09:36 min/mi)
HR 152 bpm - Burned 834 C Run on Sat, Mar 13 2.35 mi in 33:45 (14:21 min/mi) Burned 227 C Run on Wed, Mar 10 5.07 mi in 44:42 (08:49 min/mi) HR 160 bpm - Burned 606 C Run on Sun, Mar 07 8.00 mi in 70:48 (08:50 min/mi) HR 165 bpm - Burned 956 C Run on Fri, Mar 05 5.00 mi in 44:08 (08:49 min/mi) HR 163 bpm - Burned 596 C40 | Unique Visitors |
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