General Fitness & Nutrition: To young to be running for 10 miles?

I'm not a doctor, but here are my 2c:

Firstly, I'm 19 now and doing marathon distance. When I was about your age I did probably about 8 mile runs once or twice a week. I don't *think* it messed me up in any way.

Second, there are a few issues that can arise with training too young -
Bone/joint injury, from soft bones. Same reason juniors shouldn't use weights.
Slow muscle growth.
For want of a more scientific analysis, weird effects on the endocrine system.

The muscle and endocrine issuses can be avoided simply by not overtraining. I'd say no more than 3 times a week would probably avoid this. And as long as you have a proper pair of running shoes I reckon bone problems are unlikely at that intensity. And just use your brain - if you get knee pain, take time off until it's (completely) gone.

Thirdly, if you're getting calf pain then do warm up, do stretch off slightly beforehand and thoroughly afterwards. There's a good chance that they'll build in such a way that it's not a problem any more.

If in doubt, check with a doctor/school sports coach/etc.

 

Edit: jimweber makes a good point below about diet. Given your age and the demands of any amount of running, I'd suggest you go for as much as g of protein per kg body mass every day. That's eating 0.2% of your body mass in protein each day.

Hey,

I'm 16, and I ran my first marathon when I was 15. When I was 14, I ran a half marathon every other weekend to keep myself in shape. I only had trouble with my quads once because they were too weak, but I quickly fixed that with some retro running. But, if you feel good doing it, then go for it! Just don't push yourself too hard.

 Best of luck!

Intensive training + weight training during adolescence DOES cause bone damage... You are much more likely than people in their twenties to develop joint problems because your bones are not fully developed and are still growing...

Many conditions (e.g. Osgood-Schlatters) are almost exclusively found in athletic adolescence so I would advise you to be cautious...

http://www.childrenfirst.nhs.uk/teens/health/conditions/o/osgood-schlatters_disease.html

 

I am 16 and I  just ran my first half-marathon in 1:30:39. I got first in the 19U division, and I am fine. I did get a knee injury last year during cross country from over training. But, I could have prevented it. Since we are young the muscles holding your knee in place are undeveloped and you should do strengthening exercises like side to side shuffles of walking up stair backwards to make sure they are well trained. Also never increase mileage by more then 10% in a week.

I'm 19 now, and at 16 I ran the Brussels 20 km for the first time. according to my experience, there are a lot of factors which determine if you' re ready to run longer distances.

First there is the age when you started to run or do other sports. I started to run at 6 and ran my first 10 km at 12. So when I began to run longer distances, 10 miles and more, I had done already a few competition races. I guess you must at least have a year or more training and competition experience to begin with longer distances.

If you're ready for it, don't push yourself to it. Run by feeling and not by time. If you're first one is succesful, than you can try to improve your finishing time.

Also take a look at you're running shoes. It can be that your calfs are tight because of the wearing of you're shoes. I can advise you to go to a good runningshop. In Belgium, qualityfull runningshops are always ready to analyse your way of running with a footscan, video material... as a free service.

Some runners aren't made to run long distances. Running long distances can be considered as a sort of adaptation of body and mind to this kind of activities. If you run from one injury into another, I advise you to run shorter distances

 

grtz

 

hi, there

 I would say to you as long as when you're running/training, if you can always end each session/race and feeling you could have given it more you are on the right track.

 I do not see a problem at all running 10 miles. Please see the article below that new research has found by these tribes in mexico it is kind a something we already knew all along the way the more expensive running shoes the more injury is there. They properly start very young (Tarahumara runner).

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-painful-truth-trainers-Are-expensive-running-shoes-waste-money.html

Very interesting reading (so look out for five finger running shoes.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/ (this link was found from Google (five finger running shoes). They are a bit pricy but well worth it.

As a last thing stretching out I don't believe so much but more of a smooth approach so it feels easy try different running styles. The soar calf's properly comes more from the shoes rather as you properly land on your heal instead of the middle of the foot. But read the article very good. Last but not least if you can incorporate some cycling on other days where you are not running that would be very good but do it in small gears high cadence to help loosen up those muscles. If you want to be really good to yourself those massage machines (handheld) ex. Ogawa with a long shaft hold at the end of the shaft and massage your long running legs particular Calf's that'll help as well. 

 

 

Runners wearing top-of-the-line trainers are 123 per cent more likely to get injured than runners in cheap ones. 

Best regards

Cooledit

I, too, am not a doctor, but I'm a young runner with some experience in jumping from short to long distance and putting up with injuries. I didn't begin to run until I was 15... and then, "long distance" to me was 5 miles. That didn't change until I was 17 and I slowly began to bump it up the summer before my senior year of high school. I ran my first marathon at age 18, about a year ago, and I have to say, I LOVE this long distance, and I wish I had gotten into it at a younger age. You may or may not get knee problems. It all depends on how you take care of your body. I have knee problems because I avoided stretching, and I'd let myself get out of shape and then pile the mileage back on. After a year of some time off now and then and easing back into it, therapy, Celebrex, and voodoo magic (okay, maybe not...) I'm running farther distances again and feeling good about it. Take care of yourself. Stretch. Stay hydrated. When your body isn't feeling it, run short distances... 3/4 miles... at a slow and easy pace. Take a day off now and then. Also, another key to staying in shape and not over-doing it is cross training. I haven't done this much in the past, but I've picked it up this summer. I do a spin class two times a week, and I also swim a mile 2-3 times a week. It's equally as good for you as running and a lot easier on your body. I also think it makes the runs more enjoyable too. I think if you follow these precautions you'll be fine. You can't predict the future though. I know men and women who have been running for decades and are still in tip-top shape and injury free (the marathon I ran had a 97 year old man in it!), and I also know men and women who ran as teens/young adults and had to get knee replacement surgery by their 40's and give up running for good.

I'm 16 right now, started doing half marathons at 14, and I did the Long Branch Half at age 14 in 1:28...

One regret, ever since upping my mileage too quickly (20 mpw->30 mpw->40 mpw) in three consecutive weeks, I've had knee problems since.

I also have bad arches (they are high and collapse) although orthotics solve the problem.

If you train properly you will be fine.

 I am currently training for a half ironman and will do a full next year.

Hey there, I know everything has been said already, but..I am now almost 30 years old, and when I was 16, I had already run 8 half marathons and was beginning a training build to run marathons (which I ran 3 before I was 18, although don't tell the Boston Athletic Association that..I still hate that my older brother gets the credit in the record books, he never ran a day in his whole life,  lol).  After all that, I have now retired from running, and had another 11 years of competitive cycling, all without a single problem, other than a few scrapes and broken bones. 

The key was, I had help.  My neighbour (who got me into running) was a well-respected Doctor who always helped me design my training.  When my running got more serious, we sought out the help of a professional coach, just to make sure we weren't making any mistakes.

So all in all, that's the best advice I can give.  Make Sure.  Consult with a professional to assure that everything is ok, and it will be.  Cheers & Good luck.

yeah, if you're 15 or 16 or w/e you should be aware of the fact that cross country and track exist as high school sports. some of those athletes, even the 15-16 year olds run upwards of 70 miles per week. Elite level seniors run 100 miles per week, sometimes. Granted, these kids are much faster than you, so for you its a gradual build up until you get fit enough to handle more, but running 10 miles isn't particularly hard on the body if you are in good shape. Its more a matter of being fit and training beforehand. I'm 19 now, but when I was 15-16 my long runs every week of the summer were 10-11 miles usually, and now they are up to 17. Its just a gradual progression.

A ten mile run will not kill you, that's really just a long training run, you just have to work up to it