I went to support a few club mates in a local 10K recently and watched the kids' fun run before the main event. What struck me as I clapped and cheered 100m from the finish was that all the children - fast, slow, fat and thin - crossed the finish

Check!Can you tick all 10 boxes? If not, your child is probably running too much. This checklist from KidsRunning.com helps you determine whether or not the running your kids are doing is appropriate. You should be able to put a tick next to each

for the next 15 minutes. All of my targets had been met!The only low I felt at that point was the fact that I had not seen my wife and daughter at either of the two points where we had agreed they would be (at 11.5 miles and at the finish area near Buckingham

growing up unfit and overweight. --The Right StartWhen should you encourage your child to become active? The earlier the better. A 1989 study showed that if a girl does not participate in sports by the time she is 10 years old, there is only a 10 per cent

Wonderful day. I did not know I could keep going so long but with the best friend in the world and the support of my family cheering, I made it nearly running the whole way! My seven children and husband came to cheer even though the men had been

only 1:40, so I felt that if I put the miles in, which I had done, then 3:30 should be well within my reach. But in the days leading up to the race I was plagued with doubt. Would I start too quickly? Would I be able to sustain the pace (8:00 min

and targets, and enter events? How do you help a 12-year-old through the low times and disappointment?"– Raymond McMillan (by email)Your best answersMake it an enjoyable family activityMy two daughters aged 11 and 14 have come running with me – just light

less body mass in the form of muscle – around 28 per cent in young children, compared with 35 to 40 per cent or more in the late teens.11-16 This is the age when talented runners begin to emerge. Girls have fully-developed lungs by the age of 14 while

five and 16, with a bit of a peak between seven and 13. But the differences in activity were staggering; while some ran in play for an hour a day or more and a further hour in other sports, others logged precisely nothing in play and a minimal 15

‘training schedule’ as such, but are there a few simple pointers that will help him improve?A Children under the age of 11 should not be doing any formal training, but they should be given the chance to exercise every day – and encouraged to do so