Runners - how to explain problems running distances inside

[PearsOfWisdom]

Please can someone who knows more about running help me explain this properly?

My child is part of a squash club and they have annual fitness testing which involves running for 3 Miles in a set time ( depending on age and sex) . Normally they do this on a proper 400m track but I’m just had an email to say that they will do it inside (in a sports hall) this year in case the weather is bad.

I think this is a bad idea as it’s much harder as you are constantly doing sharp turns in the same direction and it’s hard to pick up any speed . The Hall is the size of three Badminton courts .

My child is easily the fastest runner in her group and she has no worries about making the time target. However she’s worried about the stress on one knee as she’s just recovered from a ligament injury.

How do I explain about the problems of running in circles without sounding like an idiot ? It seems self evident to me but I guess it’s not.

BTW There are excellent showering and changing facilities so I don’t see why they can’t do it in the rain. It’s not as if it’s going be icy or thick snow! I know squash is an indoor sport but they are not water soluble !

Anyone ?

Pathetic bump 😰

I would imagine they're all going to be a bit disadvantaged by the new (daft in my opinion) set up.
Given 3 miles is just under 5k they could realistically do the local park run and time that.
Most running clubs also run outdoors all season too.

Sorry I'm no help on explaining ligament issues but common sense would say to me they should just run it outside and the club have some flouro bands for arms to make sure everyone can be seen.

Yes indeed, in fact their sports centre is right next door to a parkrun and junior parkrun Park . However some of them have to do shorter distances as they are younger. And I think they enjoy making it complicated.

The outdoor option is on a proper running track so it’s perfectly safe. The only problem as far as I can see, is they might get wet. They run, get hot and wet, have a shower and change. Simple.

Have you checked whether the hall has treadmills?

I don't think that extra turn etc should be that much of an issue. You can get bodily stresses from many types of course. I see the problems as basic overowding and that if you have too many laps everyone loses count. If they're all doing it together, then any course-specific reduction in this me should be pretty evident as it wouid apply to all. So I don't think it's unsafe, just batshit.

Positive suggestions would be to reschedule the 5k (in future years do it earlier, now it'll have to be left until much later). Fill the gap with a bleep test instead? Or take them all for a Parkrun.

Hi OP.

I may have become somewhat overinvested.

A sports hall that can accommodate 3 badminton courts is around 26*20m, estimating from Sport England's recommendations for 4-Court halls (incidentally, a 4 Court hall is now the smallest size they recommend building).

I'm guessing in a 26 x 20 hall, runners would run around approx 22 x 16 (they have to be inside the hall, of course).

22+22+16+16=76m in one lap.

3 miles is 4828m, according to Google.

4828/76 = 64 laps
64 laps = 256 turns (well, maybe 254 depending on your level of pedantry in this estimation exercise)

Anyway, 254 turns on the exact same direction, in presumably less than 30 mins, seems like it may very well cause problems.

I would ask them to consider alternative arrangements. Parkrun sounds like a good one.

Oh you are a genius mean queen .

And now I’m really worried I have mistaken the size of the hall. As it’s part of the sports hall near the changing rooms where they do some training but obv mostly on the squash courts . Maybe it is 4 courts.

But the principles is the same.

Maybe your daughter could just opt out due to her knee issues, recent ligament injury, etc?
Or she can just take it easy esp. on the turns since she knows she can easily make the time cut.

Seems to be taken a bit seriously.

ps: how old is your DD? 3 miles sounds like an adult distance, for sure, which means your DD has to stand up for herself to say what is reasonable for her.

Squash constantly involves sudden starts-dashes-lunges. How is that so different from running around circles in the court for 15 minutes?

She can’t opt out of the test, it’s compulsory . If they don’t do it they need a medical note and have to do it once they are fit. They get kicked out if they fail.

Yes it’s deadly serious. I’m afraid most sport is at a high level.

She’s 13 and they need parental permission.

You are right about the lunging in squash. But it’s not hundreds of times on exactly the same knee in the same direction. Even when the do the bleep test, they alternate turns .

She’s not worried she can’t make the time, she’s very fast. I’m worried about the risk to her knee of doing it inside.

After she was injured she was allowed back to other sports long before she was Allowed to pay squash. It’s the sideways pressure on the knee.

Very serious squash club! Do they have a waiting list for places?

Could she turn around to run some turns backwards. Coz you said she can comfortably do the distance she may have spare time to do such.
Or just point out it's not fair on her knees so soon after injury.

I’m just had an email to say that they will do it inside (in a sports hall) this year in case the weather is bad

I've never heard of anything so ridiculous! Honestly, those kids need to be out in the fresh air, a bit of rain is hardly the end of the world.

The biomechanical damage caused by repetitive unbalanced activity is a real risk, on young tendons and joints. I've sustained injuries in the past from running on a camber, so I can attest to that. They've lost all sense of perspective. I'd write to them with your concerns about planning the activity that could be run outdoors.

They have a very long waiting list for places, it’s a top club. That why they can afford to be so strict .

I don’t want t be That Parent, because they don’t put up with awkward parents. But I’m relieved to see that I’m not being totally neurotic about the indoors plan.

I’m going to talk to the coach about the practicalities of the indoor test. Because they would have to do it one at a time if they are running in the hall, but that way she could change direction, as lljkk suggests.

It will take them ages if they do it that way, one child at a time. I don’t think they have thought this through TBH.

It’s a very authoritarian set up, it’s not easy to ask questions, so I wanted to check I wasn’t bonkers to be concerned .

Ooh good point about running on a camber. I run on the road ( live in the country ) and am careful to avoid this or alternate if I can’t run in the middle.

Not a top club. It sounds like a truly shitty club if so authoritarian.

I’m afraid that’s how it works at elite levels in sport. They say jump and you say how high?

I hope she doesn't go down with injuries then.
DS used to (cycling) road race with someone who is has been to Women's world Tour events this year. Their club wasn't run like that (authoritarian atmosphere, or regular elimination tests in an unrelated discipline) when they were 12-13yo. It isn't necessary to be elite.

I’m sure you’re right, ragged, it probably doesn’t have to be like this.

But that’s how it is in my child’s sport at her age in our country. I can’t change it, I just have to work within it.

Well I measured the hall last night. It’s 40m long and 20m wise, so 120m a lap.

Will it definitely be laps? I agree that doesn't sound great. My son did an indoor athletic event last night in a sports hall. The long run (nowhere near 5k!) was done up and down the length of the hall with kickboards leant against the wall to allow them to turn at speed so they didn't need to do laps.