Can You Teach A Child To Run Faster?

Running is a fundamental physical activity that most children naturally enjoy. Whether it’s during a game of tag, a race with friends, or just running for fun, children often find joy in the simple act of moving fast. But what if a child wants to run faster? Can they be taught to improve their speed?

The answer is yes—with proper guidance, practice, and training, you can help a child improve their running speed. While genetics play a role in physical abilities, there are many ways to enhance a child’s running technique, strength, and endurance, all of which contribute to faster running.

In this article, we’ll explore the factors that influence a child’s running speed, the techniques and exercises that can help them improve, and tips for keeping running fun and engaging for young athletes.

Factors That Influence Running Speed

Before diving into how to teach a child to run faster, it’s important to understand the key factors that influence running speed:

1. Technique

Running is a skill that involves coordination between the arms, legs, and core muscles. A child’s running form—how they move their arms, legs, and body while running—can significantly impact their speed. Proper technique helps reduce wasted energy and allows for more efficient movement.

2. Strength and Power

A child’s muscle strength plays a major role in their ability to run fast. Strong legs, particularly the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and glutes, are crucial for generating speed. Additionally, core strength helps with balance and stability, which is essential for maintaining good form while running.

3. Flexibility

Flexibility is important for a full range of motion during running. Tight muscles, particularly in the hips and legs, can limit stride length and reduce speed. Stretching and maintaining flexibility can help a child run more efficiently.

4. Endurance

Cardiovascular endurance allows a child to maintain a faster pace over a longer period. While sprinting focuses on short bursts of speed, endurance running helps build the stamina needed to maintain that speed for greater distances.

5. Mental Focus and Confidence

Running fast also requires mental focus and confidence. Children who believe in their abilities are more likely to push themselves and try harder. Encouraging a positive mindset and teaching mental toughness can help them stay motivated and focused during races or when trying to improve their speed.

How to Teach a Child to Run Faster

Improving a child’s running speed involves a combination of proper technique, strength training, speed drills, and endurance exercises. Here are some effective strategies to help a child run faster:

1. Teach Proper Running Form

One of the most important aspects of improving running speed is teaching proper form. Good form helps reduce wasted energy and allows for more efficient movement.

Key Elements of Good Running Form:

Head and Eyes: Encourage the child to keep their head up and look straight ahead, rather than looking down at their feet. This helps maintain balance and focus.

Arms: Teach the child to keep their arms bent at a 90-degree angle and swing them forward and backward (not side to side) in sync with their legs. The arms should be relaxed but active, as they help drive momentum.
Legs: The knees should lift slightly, and the child should push off the ground with the balls of their feet, not their heels. Encourage a quick turnover of steps rather than long strides, as shorter, quicker steps often lead to faster speeds.
Core and Posture: The child should maintain an upright posture, with a slight forward lean from the hips. A strong core helps keep the body stable while running.

2. Incorporate Speed Drills

Speed drills are specific exercises designed to improve a child’s sprinting ability and overall speed. These drills focus on explosiveness, quick footwork, and improving stride efficiency.

Examples of Speed Drills:

High Knees: Have the child run in place while lifting their knees as high as possible. This drill helps improve leg strength and speed by focusing on quick, powerful movements.
Butt Kicks: This drill involves running in place while kicking the heels up toward the buttocks. Butt kicks help strengthen the hamstrings and improve the child’s running form.

Stride-Lengthening Drills: Encourage the child to run short distances with exaggeratedly long strides. This helps improve hip flexibility and leg strength, which can lead to a more powerful running stride.
Sprints: Short, all-out sprints are one of the best ways to improve speed. Have the child sprint for 10-20 meters at full speed, then rest and repeat. Gradually increase the distance as their speed improves.

3. Build Strength and Power

Improving muscle strength is key to running faster. Stronger legs generate more power with each stride, allowing a child to cover more ground quickly. Incorporate strength exercises into their routine to build the muscles used for running.

Strength Exercises to Improve Running Speed:

Squats: Squats help strengthen the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, which are essential for generating power while running.
Lunges: Lunges improve leg strength and flexibility. They also help with balance, which is important for maintaining good running form.
Calf Raises: Strong calves help with push-off power. Have the child stand on their tiptoes, then lower their heels back down. Repeat for several sets.

Core Exercises: A strong core is essential for maintaining balance and posture while running. Exercises like planks, sit-ups, and leg raises help strengthen the core muscles.

4. Improve Endurance

Even if a child wants to focus on speed, endurance training is essential for helping them maintain their speed over longer distances. Endurance exercises build cardiovascular fitness, which improves the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles during running.

Endurance-Building Activities:

Distance Runs: Incorporate longer, slower runs (e.g., 1-2 miles) into the child’s training routine. These runs help build stamina, which is crucial for maintaining speed over time.

Interval Training: Combine speed and endurance by doing interval training. For example, have the child run at a fast pace for 1-2 minutes, followed by 1-2 minutes of walking or light jogging. Repeat this pattern for several cycles.
Cross-Training: Activities like cycling, swimming, or jumping rope can help improve endurance while giving the child’s running muscles a break.

5. Focus on Flexibility and Mobility

To run efficiently, a child needs a good range of motion in their hips, legs, and ankles. Regular stretching and mobility exercises can prevent injuries and improve stride length.

Stretching and Mobility Exercises:

Dynamic Stretching: Before running, have the child perform dynamic stretches, such as leg swings, lunges, and arm circles, to warm up their muscles and improve mobility.
Post-Run Stretching: After running, focus on static stretches, like hamstring stretches, quad stretches, and calf stretches, to improve flexibility and aid recovery.

6. Encourage a Positive Mindset

Running fast requires more than just physical ability—it also involves mental toughness and confidence. Encourage your child to believe in their ability to improve and to stay focused during races or training sessions.

Set Goals: Help your child set realistic goals for their running. This could be improving their time in a 100-meter sprint or increasing their endurance over longer distances.
Stay Positive: Praise their efforts consistently, even when they don’t win or achieve their desired results. A positive mindset helps build resilience and encourages them to keep trying.
Teach Visualization: Help your child visualize themselves running fast and crossing the finish line. Visualization can be a powerful tool for building confidence and improving performance.

Keeping Running Fun

While it’s great to work on improving speed, it’s also important to keep running fun for children. If training becomes too intense or feels like a chore, they may lose interest. Here are some ways to keep running enjoyable:

Make It a Game: Turn running drills into games, such as racing each other to see who can run the fastest or using cones to create obstacle courses.
Run with Friends: Encourage your child to run with friends or join a local running group. Running with others can make training more enjoyable and motivating.

Celebrate Progress: Celebrate small improvements and milestones, such as a faster sprint time or completing a longer run. This helps keep your child motivated and excited about their progress.

Conclusion

Yes, you can teach a child to run faster with the right combination of training, encouragement, and practice. By focusing on improving running form, building strength, incorporating speed drills, and fostering a positive mindset, children can develop the skills they need to become faster runners.

Remember that running should always be fun and enjoyable for children. Keep training sessions engaging, offer plenty of encouragement, and celebrate their progress along the way. With time and effort, they will see improvements in their speed and gain confidence in their abilities, both on and off the track.