How far can an 11yr old run?

[OrmIrian]

My eldest wants to start running. He's getting a little porky round the waist ( I think it's a normal pre-growth spurt thing but he's worried about it). We're cutting back on the food a little but I'd rather he did something more active than relied on dieting at his age. I run regularly and I know he wouldn't manage the all the distances I do but I was wondering if there were any risks of muscle or joint damage for a child. I do between 5 and 8 miles 3 times a week - I was hoping that after a while he might be able to join me on one of the shorter runs. He cycles a lot and uses a skateboard and mountain board and plays football so not a coach potato by any means.

Anyone know about this?

My nephew is 10 and is an avid runner (so has been doing it for a while) - he can run 5 miles.

My 8 year old joins me on fast walks/gentle jogs round the village (about a mile)

I would deffo encourage it but maybe only a mile at first

OK. Thanks. I'll get him some decent running shoes then...not sure that board trainers would do somehow

yes I am about to get some for dd1

Orm, could he not cycle beside you when you run? Then he could do the same distances as you.

I would gradually build up to it. Start with half a mile and add a bit more each time. To start with he may need to alternative betwee runnng and walking fast too.

Also alternate so sometimes he cycles or skates along side you.

I ran the Boston Marathon next to a 10 year old.

He has done that sussies - but he wants to run himself now.

A marathon, morningglory? That's a lot for an adult let alone a child. It was reading about the damage that a marathon can do to an adult that made me worry about my DS running.

this may help tis an american site but couldn't find any good english ones....

Thanks heifer.

"Even the distance of one mile raced at a very young age can cause injury. Kids in Junior High should avoid racing distances above 5K. In High School most organized races are about 5K or 3 miles. Road Racing, even for Seniors, at distances about 10K should be considered very carefully. Most Marathons will not allow athletes 18 and under to enter because of the risk of serious skeletal injury."

Now that is the sort of thing I'd heard before and was worried about. I guess he's be safe at about 5k then - he's very tall for an 11yr old.

I'm getting him some shoes first thing Saturday morning and we've decided that we'll set aside some time on saturday afternoon. Going to start with a little circular route that I used to use - just under a mile to start with, and it can be extended by another .5 mile when he gets used to it. I'm too selfish to use one of my running days...