Dear Editor Carol,

Hello, my name is Christy. I go to Meadville High School, where I am a freshman. I have been running cross-counrty for two years. I am taking biology and we have to do a project that is biology related. I chose the topic "Does running make a person live longer or does it make their life shorter?"

I really don't think that running can make a person's life shorter, but if they start running after 60 or if they have health problems too? Does running at a young age have any effect on the life expectancy of a kid? If you have any info on this topic please email me. Thank you! :)

Dear Christy,

There is a lot of medical research that points to the fact that running and exercise in general increases life expectancy. Right now, heart disease, is the number one cause of death in our country. It is known that exercise and diet, can help prevent this disease. Here is a recent article which says without heart disease our lives can be increased by an average of 7 years. Increase your Life Expectancy

This is another which says that low fitness increases the risk of heart disease. The Risks of Low Fitness

A National Runner's Health Study was conducted by Paul Williams a while back. I do not have the complete results of his survey, but this is something that came from his research. It's an article on Runners over 60.

Remember running helps prevent obesity. There are very few runners who are smokers and you can find studies that show that if you are a runner, you are often more resistant to many kind of diseases, including cancer and diabeties.

You may want to do an internet search on these topics as well as on life expectancies of runners.

Good luck with your project. You chose an important topic.

Please share your findings with KidsRunning.Com, when your report is completed.

Note from the kid's editor: Amby Burfoot of Runner's World is an elite athlete, who has been running forever. At one time competition was his driving force. He now runs mainly for fitness, fun, and health reasons, more than for competition.

And, I, Carol Goodrow, of KidsRunning.Com have been running for 6 years. I started at the age of 46. I was never a competitive runner although I loved entering races and competing with my own (very slow) times. Now I run mainly for fitness, fun, health reasons (obesity and osteoporosis run in my family), and the love of the outdoors. Amby and I are both runners for life and running keeps us young at heart.

Do you have any questions about a child's running program? Feel free to email the kid's editor at carolgoodrow@verizon.net.