Should children run?

Children see things differently. They have energy, curiosity and imagination. Unlike most adults, boredom is not yet a problem in their lives. Discovery, curiosity rule their world.

For most children, the most pressing issue is finding time to play. This is how they test their boundaries and learn.

Is running “play” for children? As long as they do it for fun, yes. Running is “play”. The moment you put running in the school curriculum, or make a child run to achieve a functional objective, it ceases to be fun. Anything that is your “duty” is not play. I would never burden a child with a training program.

Running freely had always been my son’s favorite play. Ignoring the boundaries between the imaginary and the real, he used to merge both worlds in a half-real world. He called it “Playing in the real world”. When he was moving, he was not imagining completing a marathon, like boring grown-up’s do, but flowing in a different reality without frames or boundaries.

Nothing that makes me happier than losing myself in motion. Every time I tie my running shoes, I chase this elusive, childish flow which makes everything else disappear. Most people don’t lose their childhood because their bodies grow old but because they stop moving, or stop imagining dragons as they run.

Childhood, unfortunately, doesn’t last long. I feel that we should not bother “training” children for anything too early. Maybe we’d be better parents if we just watched them play and mind our own business for as long as we can.

My plan is to keep running until I can’t. As for my son, whether he likes running or not is entirely his problem. This lovely sport kept me in touch with own childhood, his connection could be something else. I used to joke that giving advice on running, motorcycles and relationships is both dangerous and un-called for. I’ll try to stick to that.