Can I Beat The World's FASTEST 9 Year Old Parkrunner? 

Louis is such an icon. He just set off, not a care in the world, crossed the finish line with ease, and then just stood and watched Mark fall to the floor in exhaustion 😂

For what it's worth. Ran my first 5k without walking last week in my life. Used to hate running but then watched a bunch of your vids and it really motivated me. Now i just need to convince my joints to like it, too. Keep going and thanks for the inspiration! :)

“We’ll come back in six months and arm wrestle”, I laughed out loud at that one. Fun video Mark

Losing a 5K run against a nine-year old and then coming with this lesson (at 8:40) is just awesome: 'If you're 30, 40, 50 or older and ever find yourself thinking, "It's too late to start something, or you wish you'd done something sooner, that attitude sucks. Because in just nine years, Louis has managed to get himself born, learnt to walk, learnt to run and learnt to run faster than me. (...) As adults, we're terrible, assuming nothing would change: unfit, too fat, not healthy, it's never going to change now. Before you know it, 2, 3, 4, 5 years have gone past and nothing did change because you never even tried.' P.S.: I would also lose against Louis, but I continue my training.

To put this in perspective, when I was an 8th grader (13-14 years old) I was beating guys whom later went on to run sub 4 min in the mile, 13:4x in the 5k, and went on to become top 10 at cross country nationals in high school and all Americans in college. I ran 19:08 for 5k at that time and was in shape to run just a little under 5 min in the mile. This kid is running 17:30’s as a 9 year old is just wild indicative of the kind of talent and future he could have ahead of him. I pray he’s not doing hard anaerobic intervals yet or running too hard and just having fun. Prayers up for a good, long, prosperous career in the sport. Best of luck, kid!

You can always describe your 5k as only 1 lap slower than a world record holder. Not bad at all.

This is crazyyy 😮 17.31 and only getting quicker, unbelievable. Also, that duck pond clip will never get old 🤣

Scooping the chicken was indeed the first active stretching routine I’ve ever learned. It’s really good to prepare your legs for running and extend your leg‘s range of motion.

perfectly timed “kentucky fried idiot”. as someone who got blown past by two brothers barely taller than my three year old daughter at my local 5k this weekend i can empathize. and they were running holding hands no less.

If we get 500k views on this I’ll buy Louis some new running shoes 🤣. So like and share the video to bring joy to a little child …. I hope he likes pink ones 😁 UPDATE: The kid has new shoes!!!!!

Love your content Mark. I gave up smoking a year ago and started running. Last week I ran a 50:20 10K. Keep up the good work :)

Thank you Mark for this vidéo and your approach on health. I’m an 44 years old athlete myself but also a doctor specialized in cardiovascular health. Making my patients change is the most difficult, and sometimes frustrating aspect of my job. Society seems to choose easy solution over creating long term good habits. But showing that young boy on track with you may help others find motivation.

Mark, love your humor and the fact you make fitness relatable. Keep making us chuckle and thinking about becoming better than average.

This young man has a bright future ahead of him in running. Good for him and it looks you both of you had fun. Love how he just goes out there and runs, on track no pacing no watch.

Thanks Mark. I’m well into my 6th decade and have taken up running as a way of life. I’m a year in to it now and your videos have been truly inspiring. On a very good day? I have a 35 minute 5K in my legs.

Man, that was a fantastic video. Seems like legit fun for both the kid and you, entertaining to watch. 🙌🏻

Mark, how do you consistently put out better and better videos??!! This one was TOO fun! "On your Mark, Get Set.." Louis: "Come on, Grandad"

First time I’ve come across your videos, great stuff, very motivational. As a hockey coach who’s coached young players at national level, I can confirm that “shooing the chickens” is an integral part of our dynamic early stretching routine. Heel to the floor, toe to the sky and let your arms swing so your fingers brush the ground and go all the way up to your biceps brushing your ears 👍

Just brilliant this video in every way, the simplicity of how Lois went about it is something we can all learn, and 100% Mark's message at the end is so true!!

Brilliant! Big cheers to Louis - really inspiring! Mark, your advice and example of "just get started..." and "do a little more than average..." is truly the best advice in the world for us old duffers!

Mark your content is BOOMING lately, the increase in quality over the last year is phenomenal!

I've had the same experience at my local parkrun. A tiny kid started out pretty quickly and raced ahead of me. I was thinking he clearly doesn't know how to run a race. As he kept pulling further and further away I thought well maybe he does. Turns out he was 10. I was also pleased to see he was ignoring the nonsense rule about under 11s being accompanied by an adult.

Thanks for posting this, it really made me smile. I only ever managed a 26 minute parkrun and i was proud of that. Louis is great and i love the thought that he doesn't bother to wear a watch, just runs for the pure pleasure of it. Well done on putting together such a great video and for having the front to take on such a great little runner and let him win !! Seriously though, well done on your own time, and of course your previous podium finishes, i could only ever dream of running as quick as that.

Love your take-away message! There are too many of us who just settle in being unhappy with themselves instead of expecting change from (hard) work. In my old chess club there was a whole choir of "I won't learn this anymore, so I just keep not trying at all".

I found this to be very comforting. I am over 50 and have coached under 11s cross country for nearly 30 years. During that time I have progressively moved from leading the runs to sweeping up at the back!

This is a great video. The perfect balance between humour and humiliation- I’m not even sure Louis was out of breath at the end. He definitely wasn’t by the time you’d finished. Fantastic athletic prospect- good luck to him !

That little speach you had at the end..that really hit me in the face. You are so right. Subscribed

Really am learning so much from Mark's videos and talking a new approach to training. Really enjoy the community in the comments too

0:14 Still getting mileage out of that clip.

Super nice. So fantastic to see how you humble yourself to make a kid shine! Well done, nice to see someone doing a very different, but much more fun, take on sports!

This was a great video. Louis is awesome and if he continues, what a bright future! Love your videos Mark!!

This is fun to listen and encouraging to watch. Thank you 😊

That kid is fast! And just seems to have fun doing it. Keep on going!

Brilliant! As much as I enjoy watching Mark get podiums, I’m so glad Louis lapped him!! 😅😂

A great message. I wish I would have started running earlier, but happy I finally did last year. I'm now 45 and enjoying nearly daily runs and feeling much better for it.

Terrific video, Mark. Love the originality and humour, sitting perfectly alongside what is a great positive message!

I'm 44 and started taking guitar lessons at age 30.. i still suck at playing guitar, but I also managed to get my 5k time down from 26minutes on my first attempt after starting to run to 21:17 (and that was even during an 8k race, so i should sign up for a 5k again soon).. weird that he didn't want to take that arm-wrestling challenge.. he shouldn't be so negative and just start training ;)

That start 😂😂😂 love it, go on Louis.

Love your humor, the way you treated Louis and the conclusion at the end. I subbed ❤

Always a joy watching your videos mate. Inspirational insights aside, your sense of humour is always a treat with your self deprecating arrogance beautifully blended with sarcasm. Life's too short to take oneself too serious. Fingers crossed for them pink shoes!

"We arm wrestle" really tickled my funny bone. A real laugh out loud moment. My wife thought I was having a fit.

Hilarious....I love you....such brilliant videos and crack me up every time. Congrats to Louis 🎉

Glad I came acros your videos. I restarted working one year ago after 15 year hiatus. One year ago I could do 22 pushups; not all at one go and today I managed 129. I am surprised that at my age ( just turned 64)s ignificant strength gains can be made! I am feeling stronger and fitter than I have in years. It has been accomplished with once a week workouts. Thanks for your video and keep up the good work. Jim from New Brunswick,Canada

This is one of the best videos I have seen in years! Great sense of humor and attitude. When I was in my 30s I raced a friend of my son who was about 8 years old. I have never been particularly fast, and this kid was the fastest in his class, maybe even his school. He had an arrogant attitude because people kept telling him how fast he was. To me he was just a cute kid who didn't know how funny he was. Before the race he thought this was going to be a blow out. And then we raced and I smoked him. This didn't surprise me, but made me laugh. I knew it was just because I was bigger and had longer legs. I was in good shape and ran as a hobby and maybe I was lucky to win. In any case, he was humbled and really disappointed, so I took him and his brother and my kids out for some ice cream and we had a good laugh. The kid talked about this race all the way into his adult years. I never raced him again, because I knew full well that he would have destroyed me, but I had already gotten into his head and he never considered the idea anyway. Kids are really funny because all they know is the very little they have picked up over nine years, which isn't much. If you ever get to race a kid, don't let him win, but don't ever rub it in if you do, because one day he'll be older and bigger, faster, and stronger. Guaranteed.

I just finished my first 5 K in 10 years (2nd in my life) today with a time of 30'37 and just a 2 K training 4 days ago. It's a time I'm proud of. And as you said, I warmed up a bit so I lost some energy to go under the 30 minutes. So you're right, anything is possible. You just have to start someday and give your best. Congrats to Louis and you.👏

This is hilarious. Good on you for humbling yourself for the crowd. Also really like your message at the end there: “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” ― Bill Gates

Absolutely fantastic video Mark. I read about Louis in the news when it happened and just had to check out his park run stats. I’ll be 50 next year and still chasing that sub 20 park run (pb is 20:03), your videos are entertaining and also really motivating. Keep up the amazing work 😊

Always enjoyable content from you, but this was great on so many levels.

Great message at the end, you are an inspiration! Completed my first Parkrun yesterday, the first of many I am sure

It was great to see Louis doing as his coaches advise in the warm up - although a little shorter than usual! Thank you for the great commentary and advice - now how do we get Louis to run faster?

“I have things in my fridge that are older than his knees and I win best excuses.” 💯 “Could I hear him catching me, no he’s got tiny feet. But I could hear my wife.” 😂🥰 First time watching, this was awesome! You did a great job racing Louis! Even after he unfortunately lapped you, lol. Which I KNOW feels extra exhausting when you’re already tired & esp on a track & prob when racing a child? 😂 I personally would’ve just laid down at that point! But hey, only one of us is currently in shape, so hats off! I remember being Louis’ age & not even being able to run a half mile at that point! But seeing him just do his thing SO naturally & unencubured was such a good reminder of what it felt like to both love a thing & not overthink it. (Unlike this long comment, sorry!) So thanks for posting this! It was a pure treat to watch him FULL OUT SPRINT IT!?!🤯 I still don’t understand…like he’s only 9 years old? WHOA. Lbh, I would’ve loved to see his splits. I’m still dying to know! But that said, I hope that HE cont. not wearing a watch. And that he doesn’t let too much hype or pressure or lbh any off coaching someday ever get in his head. Bc he’s such a gifted distance runner & I hope he keeps doing EXACTLY what he’s doing! Also hope he lives in a running place. I grew up in IL in the states & getting lapped by some epic competitive h.s. aged distance runners & had some really amazing coaches (& teachers). So it was an invaluable experience in every way. Bc lbh, he’s SO young & already competing + running very physically impactful distances. But the key is having that support & knowledge, like he clearly does from his folks. Like even just from the choice of racing flats instead of spikes + his own knowledge of shoes (yes with socks bc it’ll give him even more cushion & support to his arches depending on his pronation) & from his warm up (I’m stealing “scoop the chicken”!) & just by how much & how purely he clearly loves running. It’s clear that they are on it & in it as a unit! 🥰 All the best to you & your wife & Louis & his family! Thanks again, take care!

this is a particularly great one. humor always hits. cheers!

This cheered me up. Very funny. And yes, you’re never too old to start something. I started running at 46 - overweight and out of puff during a brisk walk. Today I’m 54, and International Masters runner (GB and England) with a pretty decent list of PBs. And yeah, earlier this year I ran a 16:32 5k - so I can claim to be quicker than a 9 year old 😂.

Very cool video, can't wait for Louis vs Lewis part II 😂

Well done Mark, fair dues to you for taking him on! Like your attitude, never give up.

Your channel is by far the most entertaining sports channel all over youtube. I love it.

Shows cadence is more significant than stride length

It's like watching a lion cub playing with a geriatric wildebeest. Quality content, hilarious as usual.

The message here is great. I always say this when people say “I can’t do that”. I remind them that they couldn’t walk or talk but they managed to do that.

Another classic for the books. Great video. Thank you.

Mark - Great message on getting out there and getting moving and funny as "most of the time". ;) Ps. Us folks in the USA would like to score some Cardiodolphine merch. Let us know when you figure out how to get stuff sent across the pond.

With a time like that at 9, you have to wonder what his potential is! Wow.

Great video Mark and well done Louis . Love these challenges .

Great filming and commentary. Best of luck to Louie going forward!!

Mark for what its worth, 95 % of lads in their 20s that i know, coudlnt get 19:30 in a 5km, so youre doing very well man 👍

Loved the video! I was properly trounced in a Duathlon this past year by a 73yr old man; it wasn’t even close. He beat me by several minutes. Later, after the race I found out he was a former Olympian and elite level runner his entire life. While it did make feel a bit better, it also made me realize you’re never too old to do anything. Yes, we are indeed having a rematch next year!

Great advice on improve a little every day. After an accident I had to build up strength to walk again. A couple of years later and I ran a half marathon. The mindset, take one more step today than I did yesterday, you can always do 1 more step

Love the videos Mark, inspiring and entertaining. Proud to say I ran my first half marathon yesterday aged 57, a couple of minutes inside 2.5 hours, not a great time, but determined to do the same race next year and beat it. Will be watching you for inspiration...

Did Louis manage a constant pace despite no watch or track experience? Impressive little guy.

i hope Louis is in a running club and his obvious talent being harnessed for the future :)

Great video Mark. Awesome running there Louis !! I too was young, many many years ago, but never was I that fast 😂

Love this video was convinced Louis went out to fast but he just kept going his running looks so effortless.Reckon you will need to get those shoes fairly soon!

Definitely got a bet on with Jen about how many times you can clip the duck podium into videos this year

What a great video. Just good wholesome fun and entertainment while still having a great message too. Please keep making videos like this. You might not realize how motivating they are. Great job too! A sub 20:00 5k at your size is quite an accomplishment.

Great video as ever.... Thanks for posting and not taking your self to seriously... 👍

Louis is a focused excellent runner. Thanks for this video. I wish him so many future wins.

I could just about run a sub-20 5k in my early 40's. Now that I'm nearly 60, I can run 5k in 26:30 on the treadmill, but have yet to break the 30 min barrier on Parkruns. Hats off to young Louis anyway. He's awesome!

No socks with spikes is the pro move. He was just trying to slow you down. You got swindled by a child. Congrats 😉

I LOVE the attitude here! I retook my life back at 49 and it's so important for me to both strive for more while at the same time forgiving myself. ...and ParkRun is sooo much fun even for running haters like me.

Great video and I love the little pep talk at the end. A lot of my friends are talking about their aches and pains and making comments about not being able to walk for two days after doing the garden. Then there's me the same age who was a couch potato till took up running at age 39 three years ago, ran the London Marathon this year in under 5 hours and looking to do an ultra next year and planning to do an ironman before I hit 50.

The kid lapped you. Even if scooping the chickens is made up it’s worth trying 😂😂 Great video again.

His cadence is so fast, looks like a sprint that's amazing

damn, I love the bit at the end, I never thought about it like that. Thank you for this video

Hello from India Mark. As someone a teeny bit older than you and who has been running almost 20 years now, I found this video hilarious especially at the end of a long Monday.....🤣🤣. As someone who is past 50 and whose joints have a mind of their own especially climbing stairs after a run.....I would say you acquitted yourself extremely well.....keep up the great work ..... cheers from India...👍

Congrats Louis, super speedy 👍 Great video

Wait, what was Loius' time on the day? "about a minute and a half less" than Mark's 19m30s, so 18 mins?

Congratulations Louis, and all involved in this video. Amazing running, lots of smiling and positivity, keep it up and be amazing in everything that you try and do. Mark, I suggest the movie crossroads to give you some guitar inspiration and I get lapped at parkrun all the time, its just life, it doesn't change me trying to improve when I can.

Great video, Mark. Louis is blessed with incredible natural speed. He has a bright future.

We train, and train hard, and then we arm wrestle

Bad news Mark... Hamstring sweeps or "scooping the chicken" is a real warm up

Spot on .... its never too late to make a new start and get a little bit better each day.

What an excellent video!!! Being 58, the "I have things in my fridge that are older than his knees" had me on the floor.

I wonder if you could do a T spring cardio dolphin for your US customers? If not, I've got a guy that does shirts for me in the US.

NUTS! a nine year old that quick! Another great video, one of your most enjoyable ones. Thanks Mark. I wonder what Ingebrigtsen's 5k time was when he was 9?!

@MarkLewisfitness Hey Mark, I recently subscribed to your channel and since them I've been literally binging your videos (meaning I watch them whenever I have a minute to spare) I guess the RU-vid algorithm suggested your channel when I started to search for Kipchoge videos and your attitude and style of video making really hooked me. I'm glad there are still dozens of videos I haven't watched yet, but I'm certainly catching up! I started running in February 2023 and had my first competition (half marathon) in early October. Just today, I registered for 3 more competitions (2 of them half marathons in April and October 2024, respectively). So HUGE thanks to you for making such informative and yet very fun to watch videos! Also, I wish you all the best on your guitar journey - I started about 8 years ago when I was 27. Wonderwall should be within reach in a couple of months ;-) Cheers from Austria, Lukas

Fantastic stuff! I've never been a prouder parent than when my youngsters beat me at things. I would also say, don't be embarrassed. Nobody is running in your shoes, or riding your bike, or running with your injuries, or swimming with your grief. Run/swim/cycle/play the guitar for yourself, and try not to compare yourself with others. And there are lots of very dedicated young athletes out there, who aren't just good for their age, they're good compared to most adults. Good on them

Hilarious! I notice that you didn’t bet him £50 like you did with the gym broes.

Bloody brilliant! I am 51 with a 23 minute PB and get beaten by a minute everybody time at parkrun by a 73 year old. I have 22 years to catch him.😂

Good effort man. Really enjoyed that. I recently started running after a mountain bike injury kept me off the bike. I couldn't run a quarter mile but within a few months I am regularly running 5 km in about 30 mins and I am away to turn 47. Age is just a number. Good luck with the guitar 💪

Loved the video, love the tensity. Great kid. Looking to start on a fitness journey aged 52! I think I’ll need all the help i can get.