Hi all! Virginia here.

The title of this post is KIDS CAN RUN, and if you have read this blog, you know that my kids certainly run. However, over the last year or so many people have made comments to me about running not being healthy for kids. Hmmmm? Really? I heard that twice this weekend, so yesterday evening I did some reading.

Let me say that I know that kids are ok to run. I didn’t have to read last night to know that. I do have a little bit of fitness background, I’ve done tons of reading over the years, and YEARS ago my daughter joined a running group (she was 7) and the coach told us that any child over 5 is capable of running at least two miles. I thought that seemed like  a lot, but sure enough, she could soon run 2 – 3 miles with no problem. The issue is that sometimes kids find running boring (fair enough). Our issue as parents is to make it fun….like running in the rain! So, if a kid doesn’t want to run, that is one thing, but kids CAN run.

But, I digress….back to the reading. It turns out that Runners World has a page about Kids Running and there are all sorts of interesting articles. My favorite is about kids running long distances. The article “Should Kids Run Long” introduces an extreme, but it also cites some good studies that show that running is great for our kiddos. In my reading I also found some more scientific studies also supporting how healthy running is for kids including one out of the UK that linked bone development and youth running, but those are too boring to cite here. SO….if you have been thinking about getting your kids running, I say DO IT! I think the key is to make it fun, and you must know that some days they will not want to do it. How much you push on those days….well, that’s the debate I live with.

Last weekend was about swimming, not running, for my kiddos. Our city swim team season wrapped up with the City Meet. My boys both did a great job, improving times in each stroke and placing top 10 many as well. I was very proud of them. Hilariously, both commented on how much this would help their triathlons. Yep, they are tri addicts like their mom!

Darden looking tough before the City Swim Meet.
Darden looking tough before the City Swim Meet.

 

Will waiting to get his award at the City Swim Meet
Will waiting to get his award at the City Swim Meet

As for my training, I am happy to report that I seem to be firmly in a good training mode without pain. I’m almost afraid to type that for fear of jinxing myself. Since my awesome training weekend with TriCoachGeorgia.com, I have been really excited about Augusta 70.3. I guess seeing the course and having awesome coaching was just what I needed. Despite the heat and humidity, I am happily enjoying training. This morning I ran six miles….it was so humid that I looked more like I swam six miles….and I didn’t even mind the humidity. What? Who am I? Oh, I’m this girl!

So very humid! :) Pretty, huh!
So very humid! 🙂 Pretty, huh!

3 Responses

  1. Lets go with the logic…if kids aren’t suppose to run for an extended period of time then kids shouldn’t play soccer or basketball where they run up and down and around for extended periods of time. Yea they may stop for a bit due to the nature of their sport but still that’s a lot of running for poor little Bobby and Sally’s growing bodies. Goodbye Soccer Moms across the nation!

    That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I’m not a mom yet but I hope to the type of mom that has her kids running at birth…via stroller of course!

  2. My kids ran their first half-marathon at the ages of 8 and 9 and I have heard it all. Everybody is a critic. I consulted their doctor before training and he told me as long as they had fun and trained like I did he didn’t see any problem. He said playing video games for hours a day was far more dangerous than running 13.1! They cope with it much better than I do. After our half I could barely walk back to the car and they were chasing squirrels in the park. When we got home they jumped on their bikes while I laid on the couch. They both want to run a marathon at 12 and we have our sites set on the Marine Corps Marathon!

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