Drills – Be aware & in control – Improve running economy

Elvin (6) shows how it’s done naturally (during his first 1km race)..

“GET READY, SET….GOOOOOO!”.....it does not matter where we are: pre-school, super market, parking lot, airport…..”the race to beat papa or mama is always on”...anytime of the day. Sprinting like a maniac across the school yard I am trying to keep up with some turbo charged speedy Gonzalez. This “rocket boy” has no mercy for a half-a-sleep, stiff old man. Like a squirrel in “rally mode” Elvin jumps over tires and benches without effort or loss of momentum. My desperate shouts for a “false start” are in vain as he rapidly approaches the front door…”damn there is only 20 meters left to go”….papa with a heart rate that should be forbidden at 7:30 in the morning makes a final attempt to close the gap. In the last 5 meters, when Elvin has already started to slow down, convinced of his epic victory of the day, I make a final surge before slamming into the building wall. Just like in a 60m indoor sprint final. While still gasping for air I hear Elvin say: “that was fun papa! Let’s do it again!” to which I reply: “yeah sure, man if it doesn’t kill me it will make you stronger, right?...”.


So, what’s my point? Well, kids are naturally gifted to accelerate their physical development. They do it by embracing failure and with a phenomenal sense of playfulness that make us all look like a bunch of nutty professors trying to re-invent the wheel. Wow! As we get older, whether we like it or not, we have already subconsciously defined our limits even though we consciously try to ignore them on race day. Kids on the other hand, go out sprinting whether it’s a 100m race or a 1km race….they have no set boundaries when it comes to speed, endurance, mobility, balance and coordination. “Ignorance is bliss” when developing your own unique natural running style at a young age. It only starts to become an issue when we stop running and moving around naturally and start to live sedentary live styles.

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