Dear Editor Carol,

My son, Stefan, who will be 7 next week, loves to run. He is the fastest sprinter in his first grade class. He often accompanies me for part of my weekend runs and can easily jog one mile in about 12 minutes.

(Fortunately, Mom is slow!) He desperately wants to race a 5k with me and is asking me to help him train for one!

I see that you don't recommend this distance for his age group. Do you have any suggestions or ideas for how I can encourage his running, or know of any good training programs?

Thanks for your help!

Dear Karen,

I teach first grade and have a running program. Right now the kids are running from 2 -600 meters nonstop. It's a great distance for young kids, however I've had two exceptional runners in the past who have done 5k's as first graders. Of course we don't recommend it as a rule, but they both loved doing them. I paced one of them and had him run really slowly. The other one out ran his mom and had to keep circling back for her.

It's your choice.

Personally, I think your young one would be better off getting involved with the shorter races, but I think a 5k okay for a one shot deal. As for programs, the site if full of things for your child .

Spend some time browsing. Try the Run the Seasons program (I'm doing that one and so are my first graders) or the Log-a-Mile.

Congrats on running and having a running kid.

Note from the kid's editor: If your children love to run, there are programs on this site to reward their efforts. Spend a little time browsing and drop me a note if you do or if you don't find what you are looking for.

Do you have any questions about a child's running program? Feel free to email the kid's editor at carol.kids@rodale.com.