Read Online 50/50 by Dean Karnazes - Free Book Online
Authors: Dean Karnazes
Tags: SPO035000
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shoelaces. Kids being what they are, they get very excited about these plastic feet.
Tips for Parents of Youth Runners
• Lead by example. If you run, your kids probably will. If you tell them to run, they probably won’t.
• Keep it fun by varying runs with different environments (trails, grass, tracks) and workout types (hills, sprints, easy runs, and so on).
• Celebrate every run as an accomplishment, even if it’s just with a sweaty hug. (That probably means more from a parent than all the finisher’s medals in the world.)
• Kids love technology. Consider incorporating it into your child’s running. My kids enjoy using a GPS device that allows us to map runs in real time as we go.
• Kids are naturally competitive. Give them opportunities to compete in fun runs and such. But be sure to teach them that, win or lose, every race is a success when they give their best effort.
Children who amass a whole marathon’s worth of walking or running are rewarded with one of those cool yellow T-shirts and are recognized during morning announcements at school. They also get opportunities to take part in special experiences such as running a victory lap at the Drake Relays—a major collegiate and professional track meet—and running the last mile of the Des Moines Marathon.
Cindy Elsbernd should be cloned. Several dozen of her would make a measurable impact on the health and well-being of America in the future. Who knows? Maybe Cindy
can
be cloned, in a nonliteral way, and perhaps her program can spread to other states like a chain letter.
In any case, she deserves high praise for recognizing running as a great way to fight childhood obesity and for acting on this knowledge. But I also applaud her for acting wisely. You can’t get kids hooked on running just by forcing them to run. You have to allow youngsters to hook themselves on running by providing opportunities and experiences that make it rewarding and enjoyable. A simple moment such as running a lap while hundreds of spectators cheer and clap during an intermission in a big-time track meet has the power to plant a seed in a child that eventually can grow into a lifelong passion for running. Sometimes, as I have often seen, a single enjoyable running experience is enough to ignite the flame.
Parents ask me all the time whether my kids are runners, and whether I want them to be runners. Neither Alexandria nor Nicholas has inherited my love of running quite yet. I have never suggested that either of them take up running, and I never will. I just do my thing and give them opportunities to share in my running, for example, by crossing the occasional finish line with me. Only time will tell what sort of influence these experiences will have on them.
I will be thrilled, of course, if my children become runners, but I’m not so naive as to believe they won’t turn out just fine if they don’t. In fact, the main parenting value I see in my running is that it demonstrates the happiness a person derives from doing what he loves, whatever that may be. Above all, I want my children to follow their hearts and pursue their own individual passions, whether they include running or not.
I recall a funny thing that happened recently, however, when I was walking home from school with Alexandria. She announced to me that she wanted to take up hip-hop dancing this year and join the cross-country team.
Cross-country team!
I thought.
Where the heck did that come from?
Well, as surprised as I was, I guess I know where it came from.
CHAPTER 6
United We Run
Day 7
September 23, 2006
Lincoln Marathon
Lincoln, Nebraska
Elevation: 955'
Weather: 64 degrees; partly cloudy
Time: 4:15:34
Net calories burned: 22,309
Number of runners: 21
L ike a lot of runners, I am an introvert by nature. Running naturally appeals to introverts because it’s a solitary activity, unless you go out of your way to make it otherwise, and it has a way of dampening external stimuli,
Tips for Parents of Youth Runners
• Lead by example. If you run, your kids probably will. If you tell them to run, they probably won’t.
• Keep it fun by varying runs with different environments (trails, grass, tracks) and workout types (hills, sprints, easy runs, and so on).
• Celebrate every run as an accomplishment, even if it’s just with a sweaty hug. (That probably means more from a parent than all the finisher’s medals in the world.)
• Kids love technology. Consider incorporating it into your child’s running. My kids enjoy using a GPS device that allows us to map runs in real time as we go.
• Kids are naturally competitive. Give them opportunities to compete in fun runs and such. But be sure to teach them that, win or lose, every race is a success when they give their best effort.
Children who amass a whole marathon’s worth of walking or running are rewarded with one of those cool yellow T-shirts and are recognized during morning announcements at school. They also get opportunities to take part in special experiences such as running a victory lap at the Drake Relays—a major collegiate and professional track meet—and running the last mile of the Des Moines Marathon.
Cindy Elsbernd should be cloned. Several dozen of her would make a measurable impact on the health and well-being of America in the future. Who knows? Maybe Cindy
can
be cloned, in a nonliteral way, and perhaps her program can spread to other states like a chain letter.
In any case, she deserves high praise for recognizing running as a great way to fight childhood obesity and for acting on this knowledge. But I also applaud her for acting wisely. You can’t get kids hooked on running just by forcing them to run. You have to allow youngsters to hook themselves on running by providing opportunities and experiences that make it rewarding and enjoyable. A simple moment such as running a lap while hundreds of spectators cheer and clap during an intermission in a big-time track meet has the power to plant a seed in a child that eventually can grow into a lifelong passion for running. Sometimes, as I have often seen, a single enjoyable running experience is enough to ignite the flame.
Parents ask me all the time whether my kids are runners, and whether I want them to be runners. Neither Alexandria nor Nicholas has inherited my love of running quite yet. I have never suggested that either of them take up running, and I never will. I just do my thing and give them opportunities to share in my running, for example, by crossing the occasional finish line with me. Only time will tell what sort of influence these experiences will have on them.
I will be thrilled, of course, if my children become runners, but I’m not so naive as to believe they won’t turn out just fine if they don’t. In fact, the main parenting value I see in my running is that it demonstrates the happiness a person derives from doing what he loves, whatever that may be. Above all, I want my children to follow their hearts and pursue their own individual passions, whether they include running or not.
I recall a funny thing that happened recently, however, when I was walking home from school with Alexandria. She announced to me that she wanted to take up hip-hop dancing this year and join the cross-country team.
Cross-country team!
I thought.
Where the heck did that come from?
Well, as surprised as I was, I guess I know where it came from.
CHAPTER 6
United We Run
Day 7
September 23, 2006
Lincoln Marathon
Lincoln, Nebraska
Elevation: 955'
Weather: 64 degrees; partly cloudy
Time: 4:15:34
Net calories burned: 22,309
Number of runners: 21
L ike a lot of runners, I am an introvert by nature. Running naturally appeals to introverts because it’s a solitary activity, unless you go out of your way to make it otherwise, and it has a way of dampening external stimuli,
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