11 year old - 5 kilometres in 23 minutes - is this good? - should I get her athletics training?

Question

she ran in the 'race for life yesterday and finished in twelth place out of about 1000 people. She's never had any athletics or running training - I just wondered if you think this is a good time... also, she was wearing crocs and apparantly, they fell off eight times while she was running so she kept having to stop to pick the up and put them back on... she enjoys sport, tho' I have never seen her do much running...she generally wins school races though. What do you think? - I hate sport so I don't know wheter this is good, and if so, how to encourage her...

Answer 1

yes that is a very good running time. The first thing I would do is get her a pair of running shoes. Check out the link below for some good ideas.

Next keep it fun. I have seen a lot of parents with really great athletic kids start coaching them and than they start to smother them with running and make them do to much and because of the parents telling them to do better and making them work out to much it becomes boring for the kids and they eventually lose interest. I hate seeing that, I have already lost 1 hurdler that I thought could run in a division 1 school and she quit because her parents were to tough on her.

Encourage her to run, ask her if she would like to join a local running club or see if her school has a team that she may want to join. The clubs or school teams will train her enough to teach her how to train. All you will have to do is encourage her and take her to the occasional road race or two. Good luck.

Answer 2

woww yes that is VERY good

get her some sneakers and running shoes first

try running with her every morning so u bot get fit and u bond alot too....

try and encourage her to join school teams

if her school doesnt have any sign up for local running clubs and also lots of leagues so she enjoys running in different forms (basketball softball soccer etc.) b/c in those sports u have to do running too

they may cost a bit but its  a good investment if u have such an athletically inclined daughter....if she keeps up the good work and practices in her leagues/teams/with you, she should be able to get varsity letters in high school which look good on her college resume.....maybe if she works extra hard she can get an athletic scholarship too...

give her encouragement and praise

good luk

Answer 3

get her some running shoes first

Answer 4

idk

Answer 5

As far as children go, if she wants to dosome training then encourage her (I am against, however, parents who push their kids to follow their parents lost dreams - but it doesnt sound like you think like that).

I would talk to her School PE teachers and se if there is a school running club (some do), or look on the internet for a local running club and ask them if they have a kids group. They are the best people I think to help her develop her running. As far as how best to encourage her... well if she starts competing in races then the best support is to go along and cheer loudly for her.

Oh, if she is going to run also go to a specialist running store (rather than a large superstore or internet) where the staff will have the time to get her good running shoes that fit well and support her feet properly (internet - bad because you will get no advice specific to her feet and running style, large stores not so good because the staff arnt trained as well specifically for running). You can ask for advise on trainers but what fits me well might not fit her as well - this is more important with someone who is still growing since you can damage their feet with bad running shoes. (And what fits her well might not be the most expensive - a £20 pair might be the best)

Oh, and well done her for her 12th and taking part

Answer 6

yes get her more invovled in athletics i love running she needs alot of support take her to the local athletics team coming 12 out of 1000 peopl that is something special.