 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
by Natalie Gingerich, RW Online Intern 2003
Courtesy of runnersworld.com
 |
As with adults, this obesity trend is not just a superficial concern. Being overweight increases children's risks of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, bone and joint pain, and sleep apnea--not your typical childhood diseases. Furthermore, overweight children tend to have lower self-esteem and be less involved with their peers, as well as having a greater risk of suffering from depression or anxiety.
What is becoming evident is that children--as much as adults--are in need of regular vigorous activity to stay fit and healthy. On a positive note, another trend seems to be developing with the potential to start moving kids in the right direction--youth running programs. Local track teams for children as young as five-years-old are popping up left and right with an emphasis on fun and fitness. The nation's four largest youth programs are the USATF Junior Olympics, AAU Junior Olympics, ARCO Jesse Owens Games, and the Hershey Youth Track and Field Program, but there are countless others through towns, schools, rec. centers and park systems.
Hershey's Track & Field Games was founded in 1975 by Dr. Donald Cohen when he organized an all-comers track and field meet in Charleston, W. Va. It has since grown into the largest youth sports program of its kind in North America. The 500 participants in that first meet have since grown to accommodate 400,000 children and 3,500 communities. Kids who previously ran only on the playground are joining teams where they can show off their speed and get stronger and faster with supervised training. At the same time, parents and other adult runners are able to share their love of the sport with up-and-coming tracksters.
This past Sunday, the USATF's Northeast Invitational, held at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, showed participants and spectators alike just how much fun a top-quality track meet could be. Ron Boemker, Youth Chair for the USATF saw a need for a championship-level meet that focused the spotlight on the younger athletes. "We wanted to run a championship for young kids without the older kids to steal their thunder," Boemker explained.
The Northeast Invitational offered just that--a championship meet welcoming every type of program into Brown's NCAA Division I facility, offering a spectacular end to the season for many teams and clubs. Athletes ranging from age five to fourteen were "treated like the best athletes out there," according to Boemker. "It was competition, but there were also kids who were just playing, having fun... getting back to the basics of kids getting excited about getting medals."
While the track season is drawing to a close, and a new school year is gearing up to start, it's a perfect time for kids to set new goals and get moving. As adults, runners, and fans of running, we should be setting new goals also--to get more kids involved in running programs this year. It's up to us to show kids how much fun running can be, whether it's across the playground, in P.E. class, around the track, or on a cross country course. What's important is that kids get moving against the flow of the obesity trend and all of the health risks that it entails.
Runner's World's sister site KidsRunning.com, produced by Carol Goodrow offers a comprehensive resource for kids, parents, educators, and anybody interested in kids running. The site draws together fun activities, training advice, nutrition, stories about and by young runners and elite runners alike, and links to other great kids running websites. KidsRunning.com also provides great curriculum to bring exercise into the classroom as well as advice on how to start a running program. Links to more recommended sites are below.
AAU
Sports
Girls
on the Run
Hershey
Youth Track and Field
USATF-Youth
Natalie, on the far right with her teammates. Click on the thumbnail for the full-sized photo. Thanks to Natalie from KR for writing this comprehensive article on youth running.
