May 2, 2010 Fun the word of the day at Kidz Run Last week the first Just Kidz! Just Run! Just Fun! event was held on the grounds at the Aquarena Center. Over 30 youngsters showed up to participate in the event and run the longer-than-1K distance (according to course designer David Alexander). The age range went from the very young to the young. The girl that ran in first stayed with Sean O'Neil, the San Marcos Runners Club’s designated pacesetter, throughout the entire distance. There were a few sprinter/walker youngsters that gamely did the race. Every child received a medal for participating; and the coolest part of the race was that every runner had a bib number that had a big “1” on it. After the run the kids were challenged to a number of activities that required jumping, crawling, throwing, and even having fun throwing and trying to catch water-soaked sponge balls to cool off. This event, as well as the number of kids that run the Red Ribbon Run for a Drug Free lifestyle, is a good indication that there are still a good number of active children eager to stay active. With the trend of obese children making the headlines these days, it is nice to see that events like these can do something to reverse that trend. Observing kids at various events in outdoor settings such as ball games, picnics, and family gatherings, the one thing that a person notices is that the kids never seem to stop moving. I watched one young girl at a college baseball game one day; and she was dancing, stretching and walking up and down the steps the entire game. I calculated she was active and moving for over two hours during that game. Children have a natural tendency to want to move if given the chance. They learn the sedentary lifestyle from parents or older siblings who think that much movement is not cool anymore. If the family is active, the youngsters will join them in the activity. When they go along to a 5K run that their parents are entering, and they enter the 1K race for kids, they remain active. I have seen young children on long bike rides with their parents on some of the back roads in the area. For them to ride 20 or 30 miles is a “walk in the park” and if they get an ice cream cone afterwards, that is a nice reward. They key to keeping youngsters active and fit, and away from the trend of obesity, is to give them the opportunity to burn off that natural energy that they have. Instead of TV, computer games or watching the latest DVD where the main movement is sitting down, let them go for a run, play catch in the yard, ride a bike in the neighborhood or go swim in the nice, cool San Marcos River. The San Marcos Parks & Recreation Department has sports and activities for children to participate in throughout the year, and many of them are free or only have a small fee. The schools have special events like an all-day game day, with contests between the different classes that encourage movement. The best thing about these events is that the children get a lot of activity, and can do something other than sitting at a desk for most of the day. Children like to move; and whether it is a city function, a school function, or an activity with the parents or older siblings, more opportunities should be made available on a regular - if not a weekly - basis for them to do just that. Like the Just Kidz! run that the San Marcos Runners Club hosted, or a fishing day from the Parks and Recreation Department, we need other groups and neighborhoods to “step up to the plate” and plan some active events for youngsters, so that the trend of kids getting fat at an early age can be reversed. Regular walks around the neighborhood for the kids as an educational field trip could be organized by parents, or a local expert in outdoor life could be recruited to get the kids out of the house and moving to observe nature firsthand. Hosting a game day at a nearby park, or taking a group over to the Children’s Park for an afternoon are suggestions to put into an actual plan that goes beyond talking about it and not following through with the actual event. And the best part of the whole movement thing for kids is that it might carry over to the parents and adults and get them active at the same time. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!