Dear Carol,
I have a 5 year old nephew who likes to run.  Whenever I see him (about every two weeks) he wants to go for a run with me.  We do about an 11 minute mile ( I just run his pace) and the last time we ran together he did two miles. 

He wanted to keep going, but I made him stop.  It made me nervous for him to go that far.  I think the only time he really runs is with me every two weeks or so and I didn't think he was ready to go farther. 

Do you have any suggestions regarding how far I should let him run?  Also, I think he would really enjoy running more often, but he lives over an hour from me. 

His parents don't run.  He's too young to venture into the neighborhood by himself. Any suggestions on how he could run more often? 

Dear Natalie,
Your nephew must really love the time spent running with you to want to keep on going. Basically young kids usually run till they get tired, then soon start up again: run, rest, run, rest, etc.

With his young age, you were wise to stop at 2 miles. That's far enough.

Here are some summer suggestions for little running kids whose parents don't run:
1. Have friends over and play in the backyard. Running is inevitable.
2. Go to day camp. Select one with sports and/or fitness activities.
3. Plan for an event. Find a kid-sized fun run to do once during the summer. Come home with a ribbon or medal just for being in it.
4. Look for a running club. Some actually take little ones and do non-competitive activities with them.
5. Encourage the school to start a running club for kids starting with kindergarteners. Kids can run laps and earn tokens.
6. Do our Rainbow Cave Running Program. It's made for five year olds and can add a little structure to the end of each play period. Mom and Dad don't need to be runners. They just need to encourage and supervise their child.
7. Run at a track while Mom or Dad walk.
8. Buy some cones from a sports shop. Set up a little track in the backyard. Have races with friends just for fun.
9. Play tag!
10. Visit with Auntie more often.