Children's races

[Stagger]

I don't really agree there, Mud. I think sports that attract kids to them do well. I don't think it is good that us middle age people to make up the backbone of fell running.

(By the way am I the only one who doesn't believe all many organisers beat off entrants with a shitty stick. Most race reports in the Fellrunner Magazine show pretty small fields and could sustain a fair few more runners.)

Its the way forward to improve the sport to involve juniors.
Ask yourselves this question, did Jebby, Ian Holmes, Simon Bailey, Lloyd, and the older greats Billy, Joss etc etc etc start in there eariler years or in middle age?
OK, they probably did not start as unders 8s but from late teens to early 20s I would gamble.
We have enough races for all to enjoy and thats what we need to do is get out and run, whether its kids races to watch or the local event or a championship race.
Lifes too short to be a grump, just enjoy your running.

[riggy]

Ran the first trunce on monday quite a few kids at that event I'm 36 and just starting fell running but did x-country and steeplechase etc as a youngster

[IainR]

I don't really agree there, Mud. I think sports that attract kids to them do well. I don't think it is good that us middle age people to make up the backbone of fell running.

I think middle aged runners will always form the backbone of fell running, many come into the sport after calling it a day with their main sport, for me football/rugby, for others road running. The seriousness of other sports does get at you after 10 or 15 years and so the laid back nature of fell running appeals.

As there's no money or glamour in fell running I don't think you'll ever attract the sort of numbers the national sports will. In this country football/Rugby or Cricket will pick up the most of the sportsmen, in NZ it was the Rugby.

[david]

(By the way am I the only one who doesn't believe all many organisers beat off entrants with a shitty stick. Most race reports in the Fellrunner Magazine show pretty small fields and could sustain a fair few more runners.)

No you're not. Despite all the comments on here about the popularity of fell running, huge fields in races etc, looking through the race results for 2006 and 2007 thus far shows many races attracting a field of less than 100.

[Margarine]

My kids run in Pennine's kid's races too - I've found it's brilliant to try and get to the country shows like Grasmere which often have junior races so it's a great day out for them - las t year we camped in Keswick then took the ferry over for the senior and junior Anni Waltz races. It's great fun but hopefully they will also associate their running with fun and keep it up! The Woodhead's races are also brilliant.

[Running Man]

30 Juniors running Junior trunce on Monday evening. Beauty about this run is that the fastest doesn't always win. Points are awarded for place and also improvement over the series of races thereby anyone has the potential to win.

[Madeleine]

My 7 y.o. (soon to be 8) has just got his first pair of walshes. Didn't seem that good at kicking a ball around the living room in, but hopefully he will get them dirty this weekend. Trouble is all the U8 races are only 0.8 miles, and he's a bit like his dad, his doesn't get warmed up in that distance!

Hope this was a slip - the maximum distance for U8s is 0.5 miles (0.8 k)

(Sorry - in pedantic committee mode as junior coordinator!)

[macc ladd]

Only half a mile! That seems overly protective to me. You can't get up and down much of a hill in that distance, and he runs longer x-country races than that.

[Joe]

Only half a mile! That seems overly protective to me. You can't get up and down much of a hill in that distance, and he runs longer x-country races than that.

The people selling cotton wool must be doing very well!

My daughter ran a 0.5 mile, 200 foot route at Alderley Edge when she was 5 and wants to run it whenever we go there. (Work it out - that's a category A route!). Apparently if she wants to enter a race longer than that she'll have to wait until she's 10!!

[Joe]

he runs longer x-country races than that.

I did a quick google and found the UKA rules which give max distances for Cross Country and they're even more restrictive!

Under 13 years 3500 metres
Under 15 years 5000 metres
Under 17 years 65000 metres
Under 20 years 10000 metres