13 year old runner runs 5km sub16
Canadian Running Magazine commented that running 5km in 15 minutes is the goal of many elites. In particular, the male runner currently holding this distance is Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia with 12 minutes 49 seconds set at the Cursa dels Nassos tournament in Barcelona in December 2021.
At Recordlopet 5K on August 10, 13-year-old runner Haugen came close to the dream milestone of many elites, with a time of 15 minutes and 52 seconds. Haugen had high expectations ahead of the tournament, and was an improvement of 21 seconds from his previous best (PB) - 16 minutes 13 seconds, set last year.
Also in 2022, Haugen - then 12 years old - ran 10km in a time of 33 minutes 18 seconds, averaging 3 minutes 20 seconds per km. This is the second best record for 12-year-old male runners at this distance.
According to the Norwegian Athletics Federation, there are no tournaments or events specifically for runners under the age of 13. Therefore, Haugen had to participate in local road races.
The Haugen family has a tradition in middle distance running. Haugen's grandfather - Per Halle Haugen - joined the Norwegian track and field team 40 years ago, achieving a record of 13 minutes 27 seconds in the 5km distance. Haugen's mother and coach - Mrs. Gunhild Halle Haugen - had a PB of 15 minutes 9 seconds at 5km and 31 minutes 47 seconds at 10km. Haugen's brother - Simen, born in 1999 - ran 5km with a time of 13 minutes 37 seconds last year.
Haugen's achievement is still 20 seconds behind the world record of 5km in the U13 age group. But according to Canadian Running Magazine, with recent momentum, Haugen has a promising future and can develop as Jakob Ingebrigtsen - the most famous Norwegian middle distance runner in the world right now.
Ingebrigtsen started running at the age of 14 and achieved a time of 5 minutes 52 seconds 50 at the distance of 2km. Meanwhile, Haugen's best in the same distance is 6 minutes 2 seconds.
Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle and long distance runner. He won a gold medal in the 1,500m content at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics with a time of 3 minutes 28 seconds 32 to set Olympic and European records. Ingebrigtsen also won two gold medals in the 1,500m and 5,000m at the 2018 European Championships, as well as holding the world record in the 1,500m indoor distance with a parameter of 3 minutes 30 seconds 60 set in France in February. Last year, he overwhelmingly won the 5,000m race at the world athletics tournament even though he didn't have a coach to guide him.
