Some mothers ask what is the ideal age for children to start running. Research shows that typically an active six- to eight-year-old has VO2 max values that are as high or sometimes even higher than adult runners who train about 30 to 40 miles in a week.
The view that children are physiologically capable of running long distances is supported by records from age groups around the world. Research also shows that children adapt physiologically to resistance training and improve running performance.
From this information, you can conclude that children are really capable of training and competing in long-distance races. Before starting planning programs for children, however, the following points should be considered:
There is no work to prove that distance runners must start training at a young age to reach their greatest potential. Most world-class runners don’t begin training until they are well into their teens. And, with very few exceptions, children who held age-group records for the 5K through the marathon did not develop into elite adult runners.
Research consistently shows that, prior to puberty, physiological adaptations to training are not always correlated with performance in long-distance events.
For prepubertal children, the factors that best predict distance performance are simply related to physical maturity: taller, stronger, faster children have the upper hand in distance racesjust as they excel in other sports such as basketball, baseball, and soccer.
Although many children naturally have high levels of aerobic fitness, making them physiologically capable of performing low-intensity endurance activities, they are limited in their ability to generate energy for high-intensity activities.
The body has two main systems for energy production during exercise: the aerobic system, which operates when sufficient oxygen is available to the muscles, and the anaerobic system, which operates when the oxygen supply cannot keep up with the demand of the muscles. muscles during high-intensity activity. One of the most consistent findings in Pediatric exercise science is that the anaerobic system is not fully developed until children go through puberty.
Physically immature youth who undertake large volumes of intense training are at relatively high risk for injuries, abnormal growth, premature maturation, and psychological distress. Considering these points, we recommend that children do not begin regular and specialized training for long-distance running, at least until the early stages of puberty, around ages 11-13, have begun.
In no way are we saying that children under 11 should not participate in fun events, children’s tests and games at school or in community races. We encourage children of all ages to run for fun and health. Instead, we advise just postponing regular training, which we define as more than three days a week during periods of several months, and specialized training, which means just focusing on running.
Ana Paula Simões is an Instructor Professor at the Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo and Master in Medicine, Orthopedics and Traumatology and Specialist in Medicine and Surgery of the Foot and Ankle by the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo. She is a member of the Brazilian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology; the Brazilian Association of Ankle and Foot Medicine and Surgery, the Brazilian Society of Sports Arthroscopy and Traumatology; and the Brazilian Society of Sports Medicine.
Some mothers ask what is the ideal age for children to start running. Research shows that typically an active six- to eight-year-old has VO2 max values that are as high or sometimes even higher than adult runners who train about 30 to 40 miles in a week.
The view that children are physiologically capable of running long distances is supported by records from age groups around the world. Research also shows that children adapt physiologically to resistance training and improve running performance.
From this information, you can conclude that children are really capable of training and competing in long-distance races. Before starting planning programs for children, however, the following points should be considered:
There is no work to prove that distance runners must start training at a young age to reach their greatest potential. Most world-class runners don’t begin training until they are well into their teens. And, with very few exceptions, children who held age-group records for the 5K through the marathon did not develop into elite adult runners.
Research consistently shows that, prior to puberty, physiological adaptations to training are not always correlated with performance in long-distance events.
For prepubertal children, the factors that best predict distance performance are simply related to physical maturity: taller, stronger, faster children have the upper hand in distance racesjust as they excel in other sports such as basketball, baseball, and soccer.
Although many children naturally have high levels of aerobic fitness, making them physiologically capable of performing low-intensity endurance activities, they are limited in their ability to generate energy for high-intensity activities.
The body has two main systems for energy production during exercise: the aerobic system, which operates when sufficient oxygen is available to the muscles, and the anaerobic system, which operates when the oxygen supply cannot keep up with the demand of the muscles. muscles during high-intensity activity. One of the most consistent findings in Pediatric exercise science is that the anaerobic system is not fully developed until children go through puberty.
Physically immature youth who undertake large volumes of intense training are at relatively high risk for injuries, abnormal growth, premature maturation, and psychological distress. Considering these points, we recommend that children do not begin regular and specialized training for long-distance running, at least until the early stages of puberty, around ages 11-13, have begun.
In no way are we saying that children under 11 should not participate in fun events, children’s tests and games at school or in community races. We encourage children of all ages to run for fun and health. Instead, we advise just postponing regular training, which we define as more than three days a week during periods of several months, and specialized training, which means just focusing on running.
Ana Paula Simões is an Instructor Professor at the Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo and Master in Medicine, Orthopedics and Traumatology and Specialist in Medicine and Surgery of the Foot and Ankle by the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo. She is a member of the Brazilian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology; the Brazilian Association of Ankle and Foot Medicine and Surgery, the Brazilian Society of Sports Arthroscopy and Traumatology; and the Brazilian Society of Sports Medicine.
