Helpful Tips in Starting a Running Club for Kids
It’s no secret that kids are more sedentary than ever before. The options to keep them in their chairs are staggering; tv, dvd’s, video games, computer games, facebook, myspace, twitter, chatting, texting and homework.
Team sports aren’t for every child, and are simply too expensive and time consuming for some families. One option is to start a running club in your neighborhood with a few of your child’s friends, or present your ideas to your child’s school.
Offer an alternative to costly private lessons to keep the kids active and give yourself a reason to stick with a running program as well!
What a Running Club Looks Like
While simply meeting at a set time and place to run together is a perfectly acceptable way to start a running club, consider following this outline to keep it exciting for kids.
- The kids arrive. If your club is meeting directly after school ask if you can have use of one of the classrooms. A neighborhood party center or other meeting place with access to both indoor and outdoor running areas is excellent. Your own home will also work, especially with a small group of your children’s friends. Once word gets out, then you may have to expand.
- Start each club meeting by having the kids pull out their folder, pencil, and markers or crayons. The folder holds their running logs and worksheets that you prepare for the group.They can update their information from the last week and have it ready to work on when they get back from running.
I also like to have the kids fill their water bottles and choose a piece of fruit or other small healthy snack to munch on during the health talk. - The health talk time can include reading a book from the library that features a healthy habit, or printing off a short bio of an athlete from the computer. It could be about nutrition or a sport. During the Olympics my club spent a lot of time going over the different training methods of the athletes and highlighted some of the participants. The main reason we pause before heading out to run, is to give the kids a chance to eat a small snack and drink some water. In our area, this stall tactic also helps clear out the parking lot before heading out to our make shift track. This time together helps forge friendships and give the children a chance to relax together before running.
- Now, we go out to the track. Mileage markers help in charting how far you have gone. Typically for young students having markers at every 1/4 mile or 100 meters is fine. Play running games or march through the course if your group isn’t ready for straight running.
- Afterwards, we all head back to the room for more water and filling out their charts. Depending on the running journal you have chosen the kids could be:
- Coloring in the mileage they ran that day
- Calculating the distance and time spent running
- Making note of the healthy food they ate
- Drawing something they saw on their run
- Working on a group chart on the wall
- Making notes about the healthy talk
How Far Can a Child Run?
Kids as young as 3-6 years old can run a 1/4 mile according to the Kids Running website. Older children should be encouraged to push themselves a little, but the goal of the program is to simply get them active and having fun. Once it becomes something they have to do, rather than something they want to do, it is a problem for all involved.
Seven year olds can run up to 2 miles, 10 year olds up to 3 miles, 12 year olds up to 4 and so on. There is no set standard, these are merely guidelines. It all depends on the child and their level of fitness and motivation.
A simple cheat sheet for calculating how distances translate follows;
1/4 mile = 400 meters. This is also 1 lap of a standard track.
1/2 mile = 800 meters. The same as 2 laps.
1 mile = 1600 meters or 4 laps.
Motivation
Keeping the running club short and simple is the best way to have them coming back for more in the beginning. Break the class up into manageable time slots and ease into all out running. The charts are an excellent way to motivate kids for their time spent exercising. Create your own using the information in Running Logs for Kids, or Run for Fun.
Encourage everyone to simply do their best. A running club is not a competition between the participants. Keep the conversations positive, and be sure to squelch any discouraging comments or critiscm right away. Expect the best out of the kids and they will live up to your expectations.
Rewards are a great motivational tool. Everyone likes to be acknowledged for meeting goals. Ribbons and prizes can get pricey. In my club we use beads from the craft store. After a log is filled in, or the kids reach a goal they set for themselves, they receive a bead on their shoe lace. Color coding achievements with the beads is an option. Be sure the beads you choose have a big enough hole if you go this route.
Resources
KidsRunning.com also has loads of fantastic information if you are interested in starting a kids running club. There are free downloads and great ideas for kids fun runs.