By John Boel
You hear the bad news almost weekly now:
Those are just some of the findings in medical stories I've heard in newscasts ecently. The only conclusion you can reach from that is: our society is doomed. So imagine my surprise when I went to check on finish times for some of my friends in the Rodes City Run recently.
I noticed the number of youth that had participated in the categories,“Male Age Group: 1-14” and “Female Age Group: 1-14” There were 65 boys and 69 girls who completed the 6.2 miles. And many of them probably scorched you. A 14- year-old blazed a 36:43. That's 5:55 per mile. An 8-year-old kid who finished in 46:54. That's a 7:33 pace. I hate it when runners' mile splits are less than their age.
Over on the female side, a 12-year-old was flying at a 7:12 per mile pace to finish in 44:38. There were 10-year-olds running 8 minute miles. And a couple of girls still at Barbie Doll playing age ran the 10k a lot faster than some female friends of mine. I was feeling good about my 7:31 average per mile pace in the Papa John's 10 miler recently, until I scanned the 95 boys and girls who finished in the 1-14 age group. A 12-year-old boy reeled off 10 miles in a 6:41 pace, and a 13-year-old girl was right behind me averaging 7:40 per mile. Then I checked last year's mini-marathon. A 15-year-old boy finished 89 out of just under 7,000 runners in a time of 1:28:31. A 14- year-old was right behind in 1:30:53. Crossing the line a few seconds later, were a couple of 11-year-olds. One of them finished in 1:31:27. That's a 6:58 per mile pace.
When an 11-year-old is running sub-7 minute miles for a half marathon, I'm ready to just stay home and watch “Sponge Bob Square Pants.” My first reaction to this was an overwhelming feeling of depression and inferiority. I've been passed by some really young kids before. The most embarrassing time happened several years ago when I got passed by a fetus. That's right. I can prove it. I was on the air broadcasting while running the mini-marathon and a local track coach, who was five-months pregnant, passed me like a dog tied to a tree. I still see her around town once in awhile and she rubs it in every time.
Are kids physically and emotionally prepared to run these distances? I must admit I used to wonder, particularly after a pre-race incident that unfortunately unfolded on air right before the mini-marathon several years ago. I was interviewing a 9-year-old, 3rd grader who was about to run his fourth straight mini-marathon. Just seconds into the interview, he started wetting his pants on live TV. About that same time, the American Academy of Pediatrics weighed in on the question of how young is too young to run races. In a policy statement it issued in 1990, and then reaffirmed in 1994, the academy worried about the dangers of children running long distances. The academy warned against “epiphyseal plate injuries, stress fractures, patellofemoral syndrome, and chronic tendonitis.
The incidence of such injuries seems to be related to the total distance covered in training and competition. “Such overuse injuries may lead to a chronic disability,” the academy noted. The academy goes on to note that “iron depletion is not uncommon among adolescent runners of both sexes.” And it warns “A child's ability to maintain thermal homeostasis during prolonged running is less efficient than that of an adult, particularly when the climate is very hot or very cold. This deficiency may result in heat or cold-related disorders, including heatstroke or hypothermia. Of particular concern is the dehydration that accompanies prolonged running, even if the child is given fluid.
The heat-related disorders are particularly pronounced in races that exceed 30 minutes in duration.” The academy also worried about psychic damage to the children when they fail to meet their goals. That all sounds pretty ominous, until you read training guru Hal Higdon's essay entitled “Is Running Good for Children?” He quotes a doctor who says “excessive” running can damage growth in 8- to 12-year-old girls and 10- to 14-year-old boys, but points out there's no research to indicate what “excessive” running is. And both Higdon and the doctor agree that “the positive aspects of running so outweigh the negative risks that running parents should do everything possible to inspire their children to take up running and other forms of exercise.” Even the academy concludes “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 asymptomatic, there is no reason to preclude them from training for and participating in such events.”
So I don't know about you, but I'm going to go home and get my kids off the computer and out for a run together. I won't make them do 20 miles with me, but 20 minutes is not too much to ask, because next week I'm going to have to read another childhood obesity story, and I want to make sure my kids are not included. And the next time an 11-year-old kid blows by you in a race, please resist the urge to trip the child.
