Find Your Child's Running Strengths

When I ran track I had much greater success when trailing my opponent for most of the race and then breaking out on the closing 100 meters and passing them at the end. When my daughter first started running I naively suggested she should do the same because that is what I did. I soon found out that she didn't have the same kick I did so I thought, "We need to improve her kick." She managed success but we could both tell she wasn't hitting her potential. I finally realized as a parent that she was different. She has a different muscle make up than I do so it was much more productive to develop a strategy based on her strengths rather than mine! Now, she takes advantage of her high levels of slow twitch muscles and goes out fast at the start and maintains that speed throughout the race, which has worked much better for her.  

Generally speaking there are three different types of runners. The differences are created by the types of muscle fibers in each person.

1. Sprinter - Those good at sprinting have higher levels of fast twitch muscle fibers which are more efficient when oxygen is scarce. Events that these runners excel at are usually 400, 200, and 100 meter races. 
2. Mid-Distance - These runners have a good mix between fast and slow twitch fibers. They may find they are not exceptional at short or long distances but excel at mid-distance races. These mainly include the 800 and mile, but they can also find success in the 400 and 2-mile.
3. Long Distance - On the other end of the spectrum you have long distance runners who have higher levels of slow twitch fibers which use oxygen more efficiently. Events that these runners excel in are the 2-mile and cross country races. They can also see success in the mile but start to see a decline in success with the 800. 

The article listed below says, "Our muscle fiber type may influence what sports we are naturally good at or whether we are fast or strong. Olympic athletes tend to fall into sports that match their genetic makeup. Olympic sprinters have been shown to possess about 80 percent fast twitch fibers, while those who excel in marathons tend to have 80 percent slow twitch fibers."

More detail and resources

www.sportsmedicine.about.com/MuscleFiberTypes