Advice by Sport: Running

Do You Have Any Guidelines For The Amount Of Distance Running For Children?

The risks of injury and illness in distance running may be related to the total mileage and number of hours training per week.

There is no agreement among sports medicine professionals about distance limitations for children.

Until further data are available concerning the relative risk of endurance running at different ages, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that if children enjoy the activity and are free of injury or ailments, there is no reason to keep them from training for and participating in such distance events including marathons and half-marathons.

Regardless of age, the 10 percent rule is an appropriate guide when designing a training program.

• The variables include weekly distance, intensity, and number of training days per week.
• Each week, one should only increase one of those three variables, and no more than 10 percent from the previous week.