Third Grader Trains for Half Marathon

WEAVERVILLE — When most of his classmates are sound asleep on Saturday mornings, third grader Leopold Wimberly is on his way to Cullowhee to train for the Citizen-Times Half Marathon.

Since May, the 8-year-old has been sleeping in his running clothes on Friday nights in preparation for a 4 a.m. wakeup call. Leopold naps in the car while his mother, Psyche Wimberly, drives the 60 miles to Jackson County, where mother and son train with the Mountain Milers running group.

The Wimberly pair recently completed 11 miles, the last long run they will have before the 13.1-mile race Sept. 13 when Leopold will be the youngest competitor in the ninth annual half-marathon.

When asked what he likes about running, the sandy-haired boy just shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess just to know you can do it and go that far," he said.

For most adults, attempting to run a half marathon is daunting, but the 4-foot-9, 50-pound runner said he is not nervous.

"He never doubts he can do it," Psyche Wimberly said before the pair headed out on a short run around Lake Louise in Weaverville Wednesday afternoon.

Training slow and steady

Before May, Leopold Wimberly was not a serious runner. He would run around the playground with his friends and sometimes compete in shorter races and fun runs around Western North Carolina.

But when Psyche Wimberly ran her first marathon in Cincinnati in May, everything changed. Leopold ran the last mile of the marathon as part of a kids' fun run and decided he wanted to run 26.2 miles like his mother.

"He begged me to run a marathon," Psyche Wimberly said.

While Psyche Wimberly was excited that her son wanted to run, she was apprehensive about letting him run such a long distance. After doing some research on the Internet and asking fellow runners, she set some guidelines for how much and how far her son would run.

Psyche Wimberly decided she would let Leopold compete in a half marathon and they would train together for the race using the Galloway method, a run/walk technique that alternates been a set number of minutes spent running and walking that is supposed to be less stressful on joints.

The mother-son team alternates four minutes walking with one minute running, putting them on a 10:30 to 11:30 pace for the half marathon.

Citizen-Times race director Greg Duff has run with the Mountain Milers and has also used the Galloway method to run three marathons and train for two Ironman competitions.

"Using the Galloway method is a good way to train and to try to stay healthy. That's what it emphasizes," he said.

So far, Leopold has not suffered any injuries, although Psyche Wimberly did succumb to a stress fracture that kept her from running for seven weeks.

Most importantly, Psyche Wimberly said she wouldn't push her son to run, and they would only continue training for as long as Leopold expressed interest in the sport. When she was hurt, Psyche Wimberly told her son he could stop training but he refused. Psyche Wimberly rode her bike alongside her son on his eight, nine and 10-mile runs.

"It's something he wants to do," Psyche Wimberly said. "He's very independent and strong-willed."

Long distance running rare for children

While local 5K (3.1-mile) and 10K (6.2-mile) races often have young children competing, there are not many elementary school age children who have completed what Leopold is attempting.

Race director Duff said he had to call the Wimberlys to verify Leopold's age when they registered for the half-marathon.

"I had never heard of something like that," he said.

Dr. Andy Rudins, a nonsurgical orthopedist at Southeastern Sports Medicine, said the 13.1-mile race is not generally recommended for children, but if the child trains properly, doesn't have any injuries and parents understand the risks, no studies have been done to suggest that it will hurt them.

"The bottom line is yes, they can, but is it the absolute best thing? Possibly not," he said. "But, there's no cut-and-dry answer for this."

During a race, children are at a greater risk of suffering from hypothermia or dehydration because of their smaller bodies, Rudins said.

Running such long distances could also put a child at an increased risk of injury, both because their bones are growing and because children have to take twice as many steps as an adult to cover the same amount of ground.

Children who run too much could suffer from a stress fracture or an inflammation of their growth plates, Rudins said.

Running a lot could also cause bones that haven't fully formed to pull away from the pelvis or the knee, said Brian Lawler, a physical therapist at Acceleration Sports Institute.

"Their bones can't handle as much stress as the mature bone of an adult so you just have to be cautious," he said. "Kids get the same injuries as adults, but the concern is can there be bone involvement."

Both Rudins and Lawler advise parents whose children want to run long distances to have their kids adhere to a smart training plan that includes proper stretching and time off.

They also said that parents should avoid having their children specialize in one sport in elementary and middle school.

"The best thing for kids is to do a variety of activities," Rudins said. "If any young athlete focuses on one sport to the exclusion of others then they could have problems."

Lawler said children who specialize too early in one sport often don't develop other movement skills that they could pick up from a variety of different sports.

He said exposing children to a variety of activities helps to cut down on injuries and could make them better athletes in the long run.

"There is a time for specialization at some point, but early on I think the more different things a kid can try, the better," Lawler said.

Inspiring other children

While Leopold is focused on running, he is also active in other sports at school and participates in martial arts.

Psyche Wimberly said the pair plans to continue running with the Mountain Milers group for as long as Leopold stays interested in running, but they don't have plans for any other half marathons.

Leopold's running has also inspired his mother to start a running program for boys at Weaverville Elementary School. Principal Brent Wise said he hopes the program will help to encourage more of his students to get active, especially those who are struggling with their weight.

"We want to teach some good habits for a lifetime, and what better way to start this than in elementary school?" he said.

Wise hopes Leopold can also share his experience as a runner with his classmates and inspire them to become more active.

"I am impressed with the young man," Wise said. "Think of what it takes for an adult — the concentration and focus to run five miles let alone 13. That young man is just a focused young man."