This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of UltraRunning Magazine. Subscribe today for similar features on ultra training, racing and more.
Picture this: an 11-year-old just graduated from fifth grade and picked up frozen yogurt on the way home from school. Tomorrow, they’ll run their first 50k. Who can relate?
Yeah, me neither. But some kids do. They are still few and far between, but they are out there and don’t have a smooth path into the sport of ultrarunning. The scenario above doesn’t include a vast number of youth runners, and a focus on this approach of adapting ultrarunning to youth doesn’t make sense. However, I believe there are ways to introduce the sport of trail and ultrarunning into youth spaces that meets them where they are.
We don’t discuss youth much in the sport probably in large part (I’m speculating here) because we feel like it’s dangerous for kids to get into ultrarunning. Do I agree with that? Yes. Should kids run ultras? I don’t know. Am I all for it when a kid does an ultra and loves it? Heck yeah. Do kids need to do ultras to have a part in the ultrarunning world? Nope, absolutely not.
In 2017, I had just started my youth high school trail running camp the previous year, and I added age constraints of 15–20 years old, thinking this would be an appropriate range where kids would be strong enough to handle the rigors of a week of wilderness trail running. However, prior to camp in 2017, I received a registration for an 11-year-old. My initial thought was that the kid was way too young to handle the mileage and terrain. A phone call with his parents revealed they were more concerned with him hanging out with 18-year-olds than running 25 miles in one day, and that was all I needed to hear. That, and the fact that he already had 10 ultras under his belt.
Each year, I have parents contact me with “under age” 12, 13 and 14-year-olds, saying their child loves running and really wants to do the camp. Then they follow that up with something like they “just completed the Death Race marathon distance that was actually 50k and 10k of vert—and they did it with one shoe and their 3-year-old brother in tow.” My reply is usually, “Yeah, they’ll be just fine.” Sure, there have been a few that aren’t ready, which is why I still have conversations with parents, but most are—and they do great.
The fact is, not all kids can relate to team sports or want to run around an oval repeatedly with the pressure of competition. Trail running is one of those rare sports where you can choose to be competitive or not and still enjoy what it has to offer.
Kids enjoy a little down time at trail camp. Photo courtesy the author.
At camp, I emphasize that the week is not about competition. Instead, it’s about instilling a lifelong joy of running—being in nature and sensing the world around you. What I’ve found is that it’s important, more than ever, to slow down and absorb your surroundings. One of the big events at camp is a 25-mile day. That’s a long distance whether you’re 13 or 30. The number usually scares the kids (and the parents) until they accept their fate and start the day. We take the time to explain exactly how the day will be broken down and how many calories to pack, along with reassuring them that we’ll be there to help every step of the way with the tools they’ll need to make it to the finish.
During the first half, we walk and let the conversations flow, along with stopping to admire amazing views and touch the dirt under our feet. Last year, we traversed snow fields and broke out the ice axes to practice self-arrest. The snow proved to be slow going, so we had to improvise, shorten our route and think critically about risk management and safety. These types of experiences are invaluable and somewhat unique to trail running due to the wilderness aspect of the sport.
The second half, we walk/run at whatever speed they want to go until we reach the finish. There is no pressure to beat anyone and usually, because I created the route on GPS, it’s way farther than they expected at the beginning of the day. Trust me, it’s completely unintentional.
It becomes an incredible sense of achievement for everyone, no matter what their age. I still find it remarkable that we can cover 20–30 miles in a day using just our feet.
Most of the kids I’ve seen in the sport of trail running enter via trail running parents. Like the young 11-year-old in 2017, his dad is a runner and introduced him to the sport. More kids are starting to enter through peer-to-peer connections, like the group of four 13-year-olds I had last summer. This is a huge development in our sport that I am super excited about.
I don’t need to preach on ways to get kids into the sport, but I will say that it’s important to meet them where they are, whether they are excited about doing a 50k or a 5k, and give them the knowledge that trail running is something that’s accessible to them. We can help them with the training, experience and skills that it takes for them to do it safely.