We BETTER pay it forward...SOON!

Yesterday, the title of my blog was, "Pay it Forward." I wrote about the lack of youth participation in our sport. This morning I opened to page two of my local newspaper, The Republican Herald, for which I write a monthly running column. The headline read, "Study: Kids today less fit than their parents were."

WHAT???

Following are frightening excerpts from the article, written by Marilynn Marchione, of the Associated Press.

"Today's kids can't keep up with their parents. An analysis of studies on millions of children around the world finds they don't run as fast or as far as their parents did when they were young.

On average, it takes a child 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts did 30 years ago. Heart related fitness has declined 5 percent per decade since 1975."

That's more than 4 and a half minutes slower for a 5K!!

So, now we know why, in most races, runners in their 40s and 50s are running faster times than many runners in their 20s!

The article goes on to say, "The American Heart Association, whose conference featured the research on Tuesday, said it's the first to show that children's fitness has declined worldwide over the last three decades."

"Health experts  recommend that children 6 and older get 60 minutes of moderately vigorous activity daily. Only one-third of American kids do now."

"The new study was led by Grant Tomkinson, an  exercise physiologist at the University of South Australia. Researchers analyzed 50 studies on running fitness, a key measure of cardiovascular health and endurance, involving 25 million children ages 9 to 17 in 28 countries from 1964 to 2010."

"The studies measured how far children could run in 5 to 15 minutes and how quickly they ran a certain distance ranging from half a mile to 2 miles. Today's kids are 15 percent less fit than their parents were."

"Tomkinson said obesity likely plays a role since it makes it harder to run or do aerobic exercise. Too much time watching television and playing video games and unsafe neighborhoods with not enough options for outdoor play may also play a role."

Finally, "The World Health Organization numbers suggest that 80 percent of young people globally may not be getting enough exercise."

These are sobering, frightening statistics and studies. As I stated in yesterday's blog, as runners, we must be proactive. We must be the recruiters for our sport. After I published my blog yesterday, I heard from some of my friends in Mississippi. Jackie Blue, from Grenada, Mississippi  told me about her local running group, "The Blue Streaks." She said, "We're all different ages, shapes, and sizes with the love of running. We offer each other encouragement and tips."

Way to go Jackie!!

The folks in Grenada have got it right. I guarantee you, with folks like Jackie and the great running ambassador, Felix Shipp, leading the way, the running boom is alive and well in Mississippi.

Let's turn this thing around now. We owe it to the kids. Let's make a commitment to creating the fittest, not the fattest society.