One unusual participant stood out on the starting line of the Cambridge Half Marathon on November 13—even if he was obscured by the crowd. That was Caleb Barnes, age 9, a fourth-grader from nearby Melrose, Massachusetts.

He finished in 378th place (out of 4,560 finishers) in 1:34:44, which is 7:14 pace for the distance. His time is a world single-age record, according to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.

“I love running because it’s fun and it makes me feel happy,” Barnes told Runner’s World. “I like planning my running routes around my town with my dad. It’s fun running to new places and trying new running routes. I like the feeling of running fast and seeing things rush by me.”

Katie and Randy Barnes, Caleb’s parents, are avid runners, and they took their son to a local track when he was 3 years old. He immediately took to it and could complete a lap without stopping in no time.

At age 4, Caleb entered his first 5K, finishing in 33:28. As a first-grader at Hoover Elementary School, he joined their 100 Mile Club, which encourages students and their families to engage in regular physical activity by walking or running 100 miles throughout the school year.

In addition to running three or four days a week at school, Barnes also runs with his parents and siblings, Adelina and Levi, every Sunday.

But the idea to run a half marathon? That was all Caleb.

First, he had to convince his parents. They wanted to get the okay from his pediatrician. (They did.) Then they had to find a race that didn’t have an age minimum.

Caleb went straight to work creating a training schedule, which he based off of how his parents had trained for half marathons in the past. He continued running with the 100 Mile Club, regularly logging three to four miles a few times a week with them. The first family run leading up to the Cambridge race started out at six miles and increased weekly from there.

“He’s very motivated, and although he sees us as examples, it’s all him,” Katie Barnes said.

On race day, other runners were surprised to find a 9-year-old running a half marathon alongside them. As Barnes ran through the heart of Cambridge, passing MIT and Harvard, the cheers for him became louder.

He outran his dad by 5 minutes and crossed the finish line with a smile.

“It’s refreshing as a parent to see him appreciate the outdoors and being active,” Katie Barnes said. “We treasure the time we spend with our kids while running.”

Danielle Zickl Associate Health & Fitness Editor Danielle specializes in interpreting and reporting the latest health research and also writes and edits in-depth service pieces about fitness, training, and nutrition.

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