I’m doing a 10k this weekend with my 2 year old in a Chariot (I guess now Thule, since they bought Chariot). I ran the same course three years ago and went 36:34. That was three weeks before Boston, and I had been running around 60-65 mpw for around 4 months.
I ran a 1:23 half marathon two weeks ago, and have been running around 30-35 mpw for the past several months. I’m hoping to crack 40 min with the jogger.
What are tips for racing with a jogging stroller? I have already contacted the RD, and she said I could race even though it’s technically against USATF rules. I’m planning on starting near the front as there have been only 15-20 racers each year that have been under 40 min.
My advice is to start a few minutes later than everybody else. By then, the field has spread out and you can go at your desired pace. Starting near the front line … no matter what pace you are capable of … could potentially lead to disaster. A jogging stroller is pretty long. Why risk it?
If you want to actually race, definitely don’t start anywhere near the back. Go to the front and prepare to go out relatively hot just to make sure all the guys that hammer off the line don’t get in your way. It’s hard to make passes in a crowded race if you start a ways back. I haven’t done it in a while, but I used to do a ton of my training with the stroller. I have been low 36 for 10k and mid 17 for 5k a number of times with my son in the stroller.
If you have a chariot (good jogger) and just ran a 1:23 1/2, you should have no issue breaking 40 min. for 10k.
Have raced several 5k’s with my son in a chariot stroller and run 18:30ish with him. Bits of advice that come to mind -
Start up front. If you are going to run fast it is MORE dangerous to try to weave through the people than for a few people to have to weave around you when pushing a stroller. If you were just jogging that’d be different. Don’t be afraid to verbally tell people when and where you’re moving.
Watch clipping people’s heels. This is the thing I focus on the most at the beginning while trying to get clear. I don’t want to take anyone down (never have).
I pump my tires up nice and hard and take any extra weight off the stroller.
Other than that I race it like normal. Maintain effort on the uphills, use the downhills, run the tangents, etc.
As another said, with a recent 1:23 you shouldn’t have an issue with sub 40. When I run an 18:30 pushing the stroller I’m only running 17:45ish without. I don’t know how much you run with the stroller on a regular basis though.
Be very careful around corners, thats to me the most dangerous part of pushing kids in a stroller. Start near the front but off to the side. If I was trying to PR and was fast but had a guy with stroller in front of me I would be pissed. That way if you are off to the side, faster people can still get around but you’re up near the front so you don’t have to go around the soccer mom’s who think they are fast, start on the front line, have head phones in (the white ipod earbuds) but run a 35min 5k. GET OUT OF MY WAY LADY!!!
I loved stroller racing - I miss it already! For those of us who have already probably pushed 95-99% of our lifetime bests, it’s a neat chance to still do something you love and not have the pressure of a “PR” or disappointing subpar result.
You’re fast enough that unless someone actually complains, you really have to start out in front. I know, the RDs always say ‘strollers to the back’, but I almost guarantee there will be other stroller folks in the front or at least mid-front. If you start in the back you will lose gobs of time to the slowsters - I typically lost nearly 2 mins in a 5k even after turning on the jets whenever I could if I started all the way in back.
If they DO make you start in the back, and it’s a chip-timed raced with starting mats, wait until you are literally forced to go by the RD to cross the starting mat. By then, there will be a better chance of stretching out the BOPers enough so you can get in between them.
It’s super fun - unfortunately, you’ll probably be so fast that the moms wont’ even be able to keep up to give you props -you get a lot of them when you blow by them, and it’s kinda nice!
Thanks for all the tips! I looked back at the race data, and although there aren’t any big hills, there are lots of small ups and downs. Here’s the link: https://connect.garmin.com/activity/163868605
I’d think I’d want to try to hammer the short downhills to try to get some momentum on the ups. A good portion of the course is along the water, and I ran a few times where there’s a headwind - that definitely wouldn’t help!
teach your kid to say “faster daddy” and “pass that one daddy!” It’s the best motivator of all time as compared to “daddy, why are you walking on this hill?”
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Only advice is don’t crash…your son is not covered under race participant insurance even if the race has it through RRCA. I raced when my son was 10 months in a 3,000 person 4 mile Thanksgiving Day race and people were pissed when I passed them. My PR for that race was a 26:51, but with the jogger I slogged a 33:00 flat. I was not that much fun to start in the mid-pack and try to pass people…many who called me a jerk for running past them with the jogger
On the flip side, my wife started a 5K a few weeks earlier and the RD placed her DFL at the start. She ended up winning her AG and getting second female OA. Won us a $50 gift certificate to our favorite pizza place.
Glad I saw this post Nate - it’s Tim B in NS here
Like a lot of us, I have several friends who are always going for their “stroller PBs.”
My best race with a kid was not with a stroller at all. I had been training for Bluenose half marathon, but I got tendinitis about a month out and couldn’t do it. I’d been raising money for a local environmental charity and had gotten a lot of pledges so I wanted to take part in the event somehow, and I figured I could do the 5 k. My son was three and very comfortable on his push-bike, so he and I lined up right at the back of the throng, with the stroller moms and the firemen in full regalia and the people dressed up like frogs and turtles… it was a gong show, must have taken us 5 minutes to reach the starting line after the horn went off. And then the race was such a blast - we started passing people like crazy, weaving in and out, zooming through. I’d give him a one-handed shove and he’d weave through a dozen people and I’d run up on the sidewalk, around parked cars, whatever, then get back in the street, put my hand on his shoulder again, and give him another shove. It was like a video game - fast, risky, thrilling… and everyone had smiles and kind remarks, it was great. In the end we finished like 1300th out of over 5000 people, which if you do the math means we passed like 3700 people in 20 minutes. Haha. Start at the front, and have fun!
Well, check with your pediatrician about when to start actually jogging with your little- they need to have some neck control before they get joggled around too much. Basically you’re looking to not give them shaken baby syndrome.
I unlock the front wheel for slow jogs, lock it for faster work and just lift up the front wheel to maneuver. I like to take it down to the grocery store, load it up and then run back with a heavier load.
I waited until my daughter was 9 months old to be sure she had plenty of neck control. Thats the most important part. I probably could have started sooner but I chose to wait to be careful
I can’t believe nobody has asked whether or not you know the stroller’s coefficient of drag or what sort of tires you’re running.
I am disappoint.
I wish that they made 4000s in a jogger tire! The Chariot has big old mountain bike looking tires - not very aero, but neither is the whole stroller. I’ll probably race with the plastic cover over the front to minimize drag and also keep him a bit warm - Sunday is only calling for a high of 43 here in MA, but at least it will be sunny!
Glad I saw this post Nate - it’s Tim B in NS here
Like a lot of us, I have several friends who are always going for their “stroller PBs.”
My best race with a kid was not with a stroller at all. I had been training for Bluenose half marathon, but I got tendinitis about a month out and couldn’t do it. I’d been raising money for a local environmental charity and had gotten a lot of pledges so I wanted to take part in the event somehow, and I figured I could do the 5 k. My son was three and very comfortable on his push-bike, so he and I lined up right at the back of the throng, with the stroller moms and the firemen in full regalia and the people dressed up like frogs and turtles… it was a gong show, must have taken us 5 minutes to reach the starting line after the horn went off. And then the race was such a blast - we started passing people like crazy, weaving in and out, zooming through. I’d give him a one-handed shove and he’d weave through a dozen people and I’d run up on the sidewalk, around parked cars, whatever, then get back in the street, put my hand on his shoulder again, and give him another shove. It was like a video game - fast, risky, thrilling… and everyone had smiles and kind remarks, it was great. In the end we finished like 1300th out of over 5000 people, which if you do the math means we passed like 3700 people in 20 minutes. Haha. Start at the front, and have fun!
Holy crap, Tim. I haven’t seen you in quite a long time. Fond memories of hanging out at your parents house after art shows in Baddeck back in the day! Glad to hear that you’re doing well. We’d love to see you if we get up to Cape Bretton this summer.
I miss stroller racing. My daughter is five now and too big. Headwinds are a killer but it was great fun getting into a sprint finish with some guy that hated being passed by the old guy wearing vibrams and pushing a stroller.
