Kids 'R' Us: Bring on the Port-a-Johns

by Marc Bloom

We in the running movement have always been ahead of the curve, and so it's wonderful to see many people in running trying to get kids back into shape. The statistics on overweight and obese youth keep getting worse. Some life-threatening diseases like diabetes that were once associated with adults are now affecting kids as well. The reasons are simple: poor diet and lack of exercise.

You would think the solutions would be simple too. How complicated is it to insist that children and teenagers embark on at least a little exercise, and cut out just a little high-fat junk food? Apparently, very complicated. Look around: fat rules.

But runners have come to the rescue. More and more road races and even marathons have kids' events. Companies are funding kids' running programs. Individual runners are collecting kids for after-school and weekend fitness activities. Track organizations are extending their reach to the younger ages. Health clubs are stressing teen fitness that include running themes.

There's a new student running program affiliated with Philadelphia schools called "Students Run Philly Style." The "T-Bone Fitness" tour aimed at kids travels the country. The USA Track and Field Foundation is funding the "Be a Champion" initiative, in collaboration with the American College of Sports Medicine, as outreach fitness for young people.

Any time you read a news story, the quotes from the youngsters are totally affirmative. They thrive on the exercise, feel motivated to eat better, enjoy the social aspects of group workouts, find more confidence and self-esteem, look for improvement, feel renewed get-up-and-go, and generally feel better about life. Sound familiar?

As runners have set the pace, the word is spreading and schools are catching on. There's an elementary school in my central New Jersey area-Old Mill in Wall Township-that was selected as the nation's top heart-healthy school by the American Heart Association. The entire staff helped raise student awareness of fitness and nutrition while raising $22,000 for the AHA.

As great as all this is, it only scratches the surface so far. I'd like to see more of a coordinated national movement in which runners and running organizations did more hands-on work with kids. Charity races raise fortunes, and for good causes. Kids need our "charity" too. What if races promoted the idea of adult runners bringing kids-sort of like pledges-to participate in fun runs. If most of a field of 500 runners comes with just a few kids, you'd have over a thousand kids. If a mega-race with 10,000 runners jumps into this.well, you can see where we'd be heading.