Kids on the Run

The athletes are doing runners' stretches, preparing for their weekly workout at the South Lakes High School outdoor track. They will warm up, do drills, a little sprinting, maybe even tackle the hurdles.

The runners are six years old. The children are taking part in the Summer Youth Track Program, a partnership of which has a store at and South Lakes High School track and field coach Scott Raczko.

The eight-week program for children ages 5 to 12 meets Sundays at 5:00 pm. The program  started in mid July and will finish with a mini track meet Aug. 15.  Athletes who want to take their skills a step further can enter the  Potomac Valley Track & Field Championships on Labor Day weekend.

"The program is designed to simply be fun," says Ray Pugsley, co-founder of Potomac River Running, which has eight DC-area locations. His own 5-year-old daughter, Leah, takes part in the program. "The kids are learning the basics of track and field. It is a little of everything - jumping, running, games and activities. The older kids, who have the basics down, do more serious training."

Even if the children don't end up being track athletes, the skills will help them be in condition for whatever sport they play - especially soccer, lacrosse, basketball  and football.

"Being fit from running will help you in any sport," said Pugsley, who ran collegiately at Dartmouth. "For everything in life, it is good to be aerobically fit. With childhood obesity a growing problem, it is good to show kids a low-pressure way to be active and fit."

There are plenty of youth sports programs that give children a taste of soccer and baseball, among others. But there are few that kids interested in track and field, said Raczko.

"This will help them learn what it is about," he said. "They are learning good motor skills and enjoying it too. We want them to come away thinking track is fun."

Over on the track, coach Jane Cofie is putting the youngest athletes through drills, which are geared toward the short attention span of a first-grader. They are taking turns running sideways, walking on their heels and hopping over pint-sized hurdles.

Jenny Magowan of Reston said she enrolled her daughter, Grace, a rising first grader, after Grace saw how much fun her mother was having in her own running program.

Magowan participated last spring in the popular Women's Training Program sponsored by Reston Runners. Mother and daughter started taking long power walks together.

"She got a kick out if it," said Magowan. "She wanted to do her own program. She really likes it. She asked to stay with it until she is a 'big kid.' "