UKC

My 7 yr old does a 5 k for WWF in a couple of weeks. She's run this distance and more with no problems at all but always on hills (longest run was Dovedale - Milldale, ice cream break then back, 6 miles in total) and this run is flat.

Where we live is hilly so I've only run on the flat a couple of times and really struggled, I want to take my daughter for a practice flat run so she can feel what it's like but don't want to put her off before her event.

Running on hills breaks everything up, uphill you know you're slogging but that it will end shortly, downhill you're cruising, resting and getting ready for the next up! On the flat it just goes on and on and I have no clue how to pace anything without hills!

My daughter is very confident and doesn't really want to practice on the flat as she runs easily, she is very fit.

Is it just me being weird struggling more on the flat? If so I'll quit worrying about it and just leave her to sort herself out as I know the distance isn't an issue.

Is running on the flat different enough that she needs to prepare for it? (We need to drive for flat runs - she just wants to hoof it out the front door!).

If it is different enough what advice could I give her to help?

When we run together I always run behind, she never really stops chatting so it's easy to tell she isn't struggling and when she ran 6 miles in the Peak she got faster on the second leg then ran around playing/paddling for 2 hrs - followed by her trapeze as soon as she got home. Up to now I've just advised her not to get out of breath and to try to keep a steady rhythm rather than worry too much about speed or staying slow.

I couldn't care less how fast or slow just that she has a lovely day running through the woods with some added bragging rights at school ('specially as she sucks at sports days due to being a tidge!).

In reply to flopsicle:

Let her do what she wants. Probably go out too hard and blow up after a mile.

7 is very young to understand pacing.

My worry with young kids is they don't know their limits and can push themselves far too hard.

I took my 11year old boy to parkrun. He went off on his own but he wasn't too well that afternoon and the next couple of days. Over did it a bit.

In reply to flopsicle:

I'd just let her run and enjoy it. That's more important than anything. Maybe trick he into some flatter runs out in the peak, along some of the sections on the cycle trails incorporating hills to make a loop.

But I'd not specifically train a 7 year old at all.

She may pace it horribly but that's pretty standard and we all do it. Just maybe give her some tips like she should be running at a pace she can chat at.. at least for the first two miles.

In reply to Roadrunner5:

Definitely not looking to train her! She's wanted to run because I do it, unlike me she wanted a 'race'. In the last year she's asked to run about half a dozen times and those are all we've done but she's always chugged along for miles at a time, chatting her head off. Dovedale was supposed to be one way (3 miles) but she nagged to run the return and did so without any difficulty, still full of beans after.

Initially at home and when we did Dovedale I was just telling her to start slow, and to be fair she did listen, other stuff like trying to stay in a rhythm was as much to give her something to think about while she talked about troll's eye balls etc.

Apart from her weekly NICAS climbing session and school PE she does no formal sport or regular anything but she's a non stop handful. I let her have access to the stuff she wants to do where we can (bike, skate park, monkey bar obsession, wearing out the grass under her trapeze, running (me!) to keep up with her scootering to school at hyper speed), the result is that she's fearfully fit.

She's playful rather than intense about anything but I like to at least be able to offer decent advice, even if it does get ignored. I don't know how to run on the flat - and I'd far rather be a bit of a tit on here but have gained what I can for real life than the other way round.

In reply to DancingOnRock:

I think (hope) Munchkin would just stop if she got really tired. I'm not sure whether it's an age thing but despite desire to do stuff she tends to stay well within her cruise setting rather than push herself. I suspect kids get more aware of 'working' as they get older, she certainly isn't at 7!

In reply to flopsicle: Just let her run. Let her find her own pace, push on and if she gets tired, slow down a bit till she feels better

I would advise always letting her hoof it. I have a friend who is a very good runner who trained at an early age by only doing a few miles very, very fast round a sandy quarry. When I asked his dad the logic for this he said there was no point learning to run slowly.
'
I hope she has a super time, and you do too

In reply to wbo:

Hehe... That sounds like something I'd say if I knew what I was talking about! I'm sure it'll be fun and she'll be stoked. My job is to Sherpa everything my mum head can imagine her needing and discuss vampire unicorns!

Maybe she'll show me how to pace on level ground.

In reply to flopsicle:

Same as the above, just let her go, I expect she will be like a puppy off the leash!

She is fit and has no overriding health problems, so will be fine. Undoubtedly go off too fast, get out of breath, slow up and then before you know it she will be at the finish. Good luck to her.

In reply to flopsicle:

Thanks all for the advices. She ran beautifully, 34:51 chip time and won her age group. Then played on the bouncy castle for an hour followed by mountain biking on the way home. Just dragged her off the park for a bath!