One of our favorite parts of SOS is seeing families come together to race for such a great cause. We welcome children of any age to participate. We also encourage children to sign up for the Kid’s Marathon. This year we are so excited to make the kid’s marathon a bubble run again! It will be a great time!
What if your child wants a bigger challenge than the Kid’s Marathon though? What can you do to help him or her prepare? Here are a few tips to help you decide if your child is 5k ready and how to train!
Age requirements
First of all, we do not have any official age requirements for running any of the races. Children as young as 7-8 have run our 5k in the past and performed very well. You know your child’s activity level and stamina best, so we leave it up to you to decide if they are ready.
Discuss it
After determining your child is physically able, discuss the focus required to be able to train for the 5K and the reasons behind the interest in the race. It’s always touching to know that our kids want to be able to do the things we do as parents, but that alone may not be a good reason for your child to participate. Make sure it is a goal he or she wants to tackle for personal reasons, and let them know you want them to have fun while taking on this new challenge. It is easy for us to get competitive and have high expectations of our kids, but remember the 5k is designed with adults in mind. Any level of participation made by children is a win in our opinion!
Does your child have an understanding of how long a 5k is? Map out two points of interest he or she is familiar with that are about 5k apart. Go on a test run to judge what they can do now, and discuss again if it is still something they want to do.
Make an individualized training plan
Sit your child down and write down a plan of action. Include them in the planning process. Make daily goals such as adding a fourth of a kilometer to training sessions. Record distances, evaluate with your child as you go, and adjust goals as needed.
Invest in good running shoes
Up until now, your child may just have an everyday tennis shoe. These shoes are not designed with running in mind. Although kids outgrow shoes fast, if they are serious about this undertaking, it is a worthwhile investment. Not only will running shoes be more comfortable, but they may also provide protection from running injuries. We don’t endorse any particular product; however, there are many good lists you can find of running shoes for children such as this list at Runner’s World.
Make it fun
Your child is more likely to stick to training if it is fun. Make time to train together. Allow them to invite friends along too.
Celebrate important milestones reached while training with small gifts such as cooking a favorite meal, letting them pick the restaurant or movie on a night out or new music for training sessions.
Take advantage of the opportunity to model good habits
If your child wants to participate in a run, you have a great opportunity to instill good habits. The door is open for great discussions about nutrition, good running form and other forms of exercise to make him or her race-ready.
We hope this exciting time spent with your child allows some great bonding time and many opportunities for you to let your child know you are proud of them.
Have questions about our races? Check out our FAQs page!
Disclaimer
The Spirit of Survival website does not provide specific fitness advice for individual cases. Spirit of Survival does not endorse any services or products obtained through information provided on this site, articles on the site or any links on this site.
Use of the information obtained by the Spirit of Survival website does not replace medical advice given by a qualified medical provider to meet the medical needs of our readers or others.
While our content is current when published, information changes quickly. Information may be out of date, and/or contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. For questions or concerns, please contact us at racedirector@spiritofsurvival.com.
