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CROSS-COUNTRY CLUB
Getting Started
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Dear Coach Eileen, I'm trying to start up a cross-country club at the school where I work. The borough has a twice yearly cross-country competition that we enter, but never do particularly well in. Not knowing a great deal about training myself, I was hoping that someone would be able to tell what kinds of activities that I should do with the children to build them up to be able to run 2000m well. The children are very enthusiastic 6 - 11 year olds and I'm willing to try anything!! How often should we practise and what should we do? I hope you can help me, Vanessa Baker Dear Vanessa, Starting up a cross-country club sounds like an excellent idea. Believe it or not, there are hundreds of such programs around the country that teach kids the many benefits of running as either a hobby or a sport. Many programs usually meet once or even twice a week after school to have fun with running through games, relays and monthly fun runs. You can run laps around the playground before school or during recess a couple days a week. Kids can keep track of their miles in a running log and receive awards (ribbons, etc.) at predetermined milestones. You can have fun and build strength and endurance with circuit training: Run 400 yards, do 10 pushups, then 5 squat thrusts, sprint 100 yards, perform 10 bench dips, run through a series of tires (agility), finish with 400 yards. (These exercises can vary, but don't make them too hard or too long.) A few words of caution: Start slowly. Allow kids to go at their own pace and pay attention to signs of fatigue. Make sure the kids drink plenty of liquids and dress appropriately, especially if the weather is warm. How far to go depends on what each child is capable of, but 3 miles should be the limit for the older children. Always keep in mind that having fun comes first. We want these kids to not only build endurance and strength, but to also give them a sense of pride and self-esteem. Remember, we want them to enjoy running and other activities so that they'll continue being active for a lifetime. Good luck with your program and the borough's cross-country competition. Eileen Portz-Shovlin
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