How far can kids run? Take a look at Alana Dudley's weekly totals since she was 6 years old:
Her dad had heard it all:
... that she'll damage her joints, destroy her
health, wear out, burn out. One local coach even said, "That's it.
You've ruined her. She won't grow any more running all those miles." Did they have any scientific validity? A flat NO.
The RunningTimes took a look at scientific evidence. "There is, of course, the example of African youth, who, while they may
not run as much as some legends suggest, put in far more miles, simply
as transportation, than most American youth even in aggressive training
programs. Elite coach Joe Vigil often estimates that, by the time they
reach high school, Kenyan youth have run as much as 10,000 miles more
than their American counterparts. A Scandinavian researcher, Bengt
Saltin, found in a 1995 study that active Kenyan school children covered
on average 8–12K a day. That's a weekly total of 35–50 miles".
Fieseler, M.D., practicing sports physician on the board
of directors of the American Medical Athletic Association: "You'll find no data that
kids will tear up ligaments, destroy cartilage or damage growth plates
with high mileage. You don't need to put a top limit on it."
June 2007 issue of Pediatrics: "There is, at present, no scientific evidence that
supports or refutes the safety of children who participate in marathons.
There are no recorded data on injuries sustained by children who run
marathons. … Ultimately, there is no reason to disallow participation of
a young athlete in a properly run marathon as long as the athlete
enjoys the activity and is asymptomatic."
Tim Noakes, M.D., professor of exercise and sports
science at the University of Cape Town: "It is important to stress, however, that there is no evidence
for any negative physiological effects of intensive training by itself
in the prepubertal period." "There is no evidence
that either children or adults can train themselves to the point where
they suffer lasting physical impairment," and, "Gifted young runners
[6-to 10-year-olds], who choose to run these distances [excess of 8–10K]
are at no greater risk of an unfavorable outcome or injury than are
adults completing the same distances under the same environmental
conditions."
"That this is unusual mileage for a 13-year-old is
because of two problems: One is that running is widely considered
punishment. (!) It is punishment/torture to non-athletes for sure, and in
ball-dominated sports they have to run when they do something bad (!) The
second problem is the obvious one: We've just gotten soft (convenienced)
in this country and, as a result, ridiculously and dangerously unfit.
This is why one hour of running for a child with limitless amounts of
energy and enthusiasm elicits such a negative response."
In terms of athlete development, numerous sources
indicate there's little benefit in intensive (fast) and systematic training
before puberty. Until puberty, children lack many of the hormones that
allow for training adaptations in the muscoloskeletal system, and
they're poorly suited for longer bouts of intense (as in fast) exercise like interval
training. Younger children are well suited, however, to long,
easy running, and can significantly improve their VO2 max and running
economy by putting in miles.
One other risk is overspecialization. Similar to adults,
if young runners do nothing but sit except when running, they're likely
to get injured and not develop their full potential as runners. While
kids, like their adult counterparts, can perform drills and
strengthening exercises to counteract this, too much of this takes
running away from the play it should be. Most argue that it's better to
have them active in a variety of physically demanding sports.
Larry
Greene and Russell Pate argue in Training for Young Distance Runners,
"When track season is over, they should participate in soccer,
basketball and other youth sports, because it is important to develop
all-around physical fitness before beginning specialized training for
track and cross country."
Given a runner with a strong desire, good biomechanics
and the patience to build over years, however, we shouldn't fear when a
child runs more miles than most adult marathoners. Even with concerns
over motivation and external pressures, it's a rather strange commentary
on our society that a runner doing more than expected generates as much
or more health concern than her many peers who are overweight.
"They
are more likely to have problems being obese," says Hudson. "There are
worse things hurting our country than kids running too much."
