Guest blog: ChiRunning for kids with Rob Chambers (@NS_Trail_Runner)

Posted In: Running May 30th, 2017 divider No Comments »

Recently, after years of trying to make the timing work, I was able to take a ChiRunning workshop with Eric! I was interested in the course after learning about ChiRunning from a gentleman who I had run a portion of the Bluenose Marathon with years ago. He and I had chatted about it over a few kilometers.

I was very impressed with Eric’s teaching style, humour and passion for his teaching. I love a clinic like the this because there were so many “take-aways” by that I mean simple drills, exercises that you could easily practice at home, on a run, etc. And the purpose of these drills were explained very well and an obvious progression emerged. I was excited not only for myself to take the course and better my running, but I was also excited to be in a position to pass along some of what I had learned.

I have been running myself for over 20 years and I teach Phys. Ed. at a P-12 independent school in Halifax. I am an RRCA certified Run coach and I am the Head Coach and Founder of the Kingfisher Youth Running Team here in Halifax. My favourite thing to do is share my love of running with kids.

On my first practice back with my Kingfisher kids, I was able to run some of the drills that I had been shown by Eric. We discussed the lean, running with gravity, and also focused on arm swing. Arm swing is something that we have been focusing on with some of our kids for a while. The kids- and others coaches- enjoyed the practice and drills and I really felt they walked away with some new tools.

We had a race that weekend, and one thing that was very noticeable on a few of our kids was their change in arm swing. One girl in particular who previously had a very inefficient arm swing took to the new idea and ended up on the podium for her first time in 3 years of running with us!

I’ve always been a proponent of gathering as much information about things as possible. My curiosity for ChiRunning did not disappoint. Now, post Bluenose marathon myself, I am excited to incorporate these ideas in my training for my next race!

-Rob Chambers is the Jr. School Phys. Ed. & Health Co-ordinator at Armbrae Academy in Halifax. He’s also a RRCA Certified Run Coach, a Paddle Canada Advanced SUP Instructor and a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer.