DyeStat


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Young Runners

Marc Bloom's latest book tells the world why running is such a valuable endeavor for youth of all
ages, and how it can be embraced in a balanced, healthy way


Book Review by SteveU

 The author has never been one to back away from the confessional, so while the bulk of his latest book isn’t the intensely personal journey that God on the Starting Line was, it still opens with a doozy from the archives of his soul in the introduction.  He takes you back to a winter night in 1982, coaching his 9-year-old daughter, Allison, through a speed workout at Columbia University … trying to get her ready for the upcoming Colgate Games, trying to get her “to perform like a professional.”

Yes, Marc Bloom was – if only for awhile – the dreaded, prototypical, make-your-eyes-roll-back-into-your-head “Track Parent.”  

It’s hard to imagine Bloom, as we know him now, ferrying his daughter with great urgency and determination across The Big Apple for a serious interval workout, one that had them arriving back at the house after midnight.  He cringes as he remembers explaining race strategy to his daughter before one of the races. “She looked at me, blankly, thinking, I’m sure, What is Daddy doing to me?”  And he looks now at a picture from the start of that race. “Guess which girl looks tense, with hunched shoulders, fists clenched, and a fearful countenance?”

No one as self-aware as Bloom could stay in a place like that for long, though, without seeing the light.  He has made himself a student of the development of youth runners for years since.  Many DyeStat fans are most familiar with his work with The Harrier magazine, and books like Run with the Champions and God on the Starting Line.  But he also has a great deal of passion for training, development, education, and trying to find an approach to the sport for young runners that is gentle and balanced enough to keep them in for the long haul, yet challenges them enough to allow for eventual excellence and a life well lived.  So, now we have Young Runners, published this past spring.

Bloom has always made his books interesting for all segments of the running community, but this effort is most directly aimed at parents and coaches.  That sure doesn’t mean, however, that the young HS runners that are DyeStat’s core audience won’t enjoy and get value from this work.

So the author’s mission in Young Runners is two-pronged: First, to convey the value of getting kids into running for fun at a young age (as young as age 5) as one of the best ways to combat childhood obesity and all of the myriad ills of an inactive lifestyle.  Second, once that interest is sparked, how to make the running experience – including competition – a positive experience as children become adolescents, teenagers, and young adults.  

To those ends, Bloom amasses information from countless sources, studies, quoting an endless stream of experts in different aspects of what he discusses.  As you learn in reading Young Runners, there is no one flawless approach and, goodness knows, the sport takes place in a world that’s far from flawless and full of all sorts of pressures and human imperfections.  

It would be one thing if the book was simply a deep blend of personal observations and opinions, but Bloom is very hands-on, so he takes you deep into several youth running programs and events around the country.  He pays a visit to a Freehold Area Running Club family running event in Jersey, spends extensive time with Dr. Brenda Armstrong and the Durham (N.C.) Striders, discovers what makes Lynbrook Elementary in Virginia a “Healthy School” award winner seven years running, and treads through the “guerrilla running” programs in the New York City schools.

In many cases, Bloom finds these events, programs and clubs excelling despite limited resources – and there’s no doubt that those resources have been stretched thinner even since this book was written in the last year by the struggling economy.  But they persevere through the creativity, fortitude, and even heroism of their leadership.  As he so often does, Bloom always seems to get to the depth and the heart of what really makes things go.

As you read the book, you gradually become aware that things are progressing chronologically, from exploring youth running issues of elementary age kids, middle school age kids, and finally, high schoolers.

I think the big DyeStat family will appreciate the way Bloom has addressed high school running.  Few have a more keen eye on girls running issues, especially related to the health issues that can be unique to females, than Bloom – not just because he has observed his daughters through participation in the sport, but because of a natural sensitivity to these challenges.  As for high school boys running, Bloom’s coaching experience, detailed in “God on the Starting Line,” was clearly invaluable and it is fun to read his perspectives on those experiences now, with a few years having passed in-between.

The result is the author’s ability to get to the core of where the barometer lies in the success of each gender.  Hence, the chapters “Running with the Female Body” and “Running with the Male Ego” get right to the core of what must be dealt with and often overcome to have successful experiences as high school runners.  There’s also some very in-depth exploration of ongoing issues, like “Should Middle School Runners Compete on High School Teams?”

In “Running with the Female Body,” Bloom emphasizes that “distance running is absolutely wonderful for young girls in every respect – no less so than it is for boys – but that girls’ particular development and maturation are best nurtured by a low-key training and racing approach in the younger age group.”

While it’s possible that some girls might seem to be able to run faster before their bodies really mature, the injury studies that Bloom points to and his contention that child stars don’t become professional stars are pretty convincing in arguing for moderation.  Key points are made regarding simple core issues like healthy bone development, the importance of menstruation in females’ energy level and ability to heal, and the need to communicate openly about maturation changes that can, for a time at least, affect performance.

In his chapter, “Running with the Male Ego,” Bloom recalls his initial shock of encountering his first cross-country team as the St. Rose HS coach.  What’s wrong with boys, he asked himself, having somewhat forgotten what he himself was like as a young athlete.  He eventually learned, though, the psychological and social elements that needed to be nurtured to bring out the best in this high school gender.  

The book’s chapters are most often a blend of observation, commentary, and ending with specific interviews and/or practical and applicable advice – stuff you can go out right now and use.

The book’s final chapters detail an amazing story of Danny Mininsohn, a New Jersey middle-school cross-country runner with autism and, finally, a collection of convincing testimonials on the benefits of distance running ability in all sports – adding a final touch to the conclusion that running can benefit anyone.  

Danny was diagnosed with autism at age four and, with the vision of teacher/coach Pat Mantone, was guided into running in late elementary school and eventually progressed into participation on the Marlboro XC team.  It’s a story of the inspired efforts of many who make “Team Danny” work and give an opportunity for a child to reach heights that may not have been otherwise imagined.

Bloom uses this story for perhaps his strongest argument for the benefits of running and what all the embrace of the running community can be, at its best.  “Track kids are not like other kids,” Danny’s mom tells Bloom.  “They don’t compete against one another, but against themselves.  Where else could I find typical children to interact with Danny and treat him as a peer?”  And his story of Danny makes it clear that running has helped him progress in all aspects of his life, to the amazement of family, doctors and teachers.

What comes across more than anything in the book is Bloom’s love of the sport and his absolute conviction of its benefits for practically any and every youngster.  Of course, as he also strongly contends, those benefits are most enjoyed following certain guiding principles.  Bloom doesn’t claim there’s one right way, or to have all of the answers, but he certainly lays down plenty of those guiding principles – and countless stories and expert analysis to back them up.  



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