Their maximum running distances for kids of different ages are as follows: Children under the age of 9: Can safely run 1.5 miles (though they don't list a minimum age, this should be limited to kids 7-8 years old).
7-year-olds and under
Look for “fun runs” or races between 1 and 2 miles or a 100-yard dash. These should be short runs, not long or extended. Training for this age group should be around one or two days a week. Race time should not be important to this age group.
Age 5-6 – 100m. Age 7-8 – 200m. Age 9-10 – 400m. Age 11-12 – 800m.
In this study, 16 year olds were able to reach a maximum running speed of 26 kilometers per hour (3:45 per mile), while two year-olds and 10 year-olds were able to reach six (16:20 per mile) and 20 kilometers per hour (4:50 per mile), respectively.
“Usually children are ready to start running longer distances—5 kilometer (5K) races, for example—between ages 8 and 10,” says Dr. Mark Halstead, a pediatric sports medicine specialist at Washington University in St.
A 7 year old running 100 meters in under 35 seconds is quicker than average. Similarly, a 7 year old running a mile in under 10 minutes is considered a fast pace.
There have been many thousands of finishers <18 years old at the Los Angeles Marathon in an organised programme for youth running and nearly 300 finishers in at the Twin Cities Marathon. The youngest child in these data sets was 7 years old. There has not been any significant medical injury at these events.
Despite appearing at first sight, as an extreme activity for kids, running for is highly recommended for children under 12 years. According to several studies, young people who practice physical activities are half as likely to become sedentary adults as those who had a “do nothing” childhood.
Somewhere between 18 and 24 months old, your toddler will begin to pick up the pace from walking to running — though you can expect a few spills along the way. By the time she turns 3, running should come easily to her.
Children 5 and under should focus on “dash” events that range from a few yards to 400 meters. Children 5 and over, kids fun runs that are a ½ to 1 mile long may be considered, but allow for a combination of running and walking.
Children's muscles are different
And children show greater activity in muscles that oppose or control movement, a reflection of the fact that typically they are less skillful, and therefore use more energy.
Running about 15 to 20 miles a week provides optimal health benefits, O'Keefe said. Or walking can provide benefits, from 2 miles a day to as much as 40 miles a week.
The Right Age
Kids around 7 or 8 are ready to begin training for their first 5K. “For a young kid, 3.1 miles is a long way and can be very discouraging, plus training at too young of an age could lead to injury,” Saffa says. If you do have younger kids, look for races that offer family fun walks.
Children ages 3 through 5 years need to be active throughout the day. Children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 need to be active for 60 minutes every day.
Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services recommend that children and adolescents age 6 and older get at least an hour a day of moderate or vigorous aerobic activity. Children should do vigorous activities, such as running or biking, at least three days a week.
The average nine year old runs a mile in ten and a half minutes, but can sprint for short distances at up to 15 miles per hour.
Yes they can - and once you're underway, they can also do junior park run! (There are also plenty of children your sons' ages at our local normal parkrun, which is 5k - they get t shirts when they complete ten.
He ran from Puri to Bhubaneswar at the age of five covering 65 kilometres (40 mi) in seven hours and two minutes and was listed as the world's youngest marathon runner in the 2006 edition of the Limca Book of Records, an Indian records book.
Participants in the marathon must be 16 years of age or older on race day. Participants in the half marathon and marathon relay must be 12 years of age or older on race day. Participants in the 5k must be 6 years of age or older on race day.
So it's no surprise that the story of 6-year-old Rainier Crawford running the Flying Pig Marathon with his family in Cincinnati in May drew national attention and intense scrutiny on social media. How did a first-grader race alongside an estimated 20,000 runners who lined up to race on that sunny Sunday morning?