“Youth programming is the one thing in our organization where we’ve seen an increase,” Holder said.
That includes both the club’s Kilometer Kids program for children from kindergarten to fifth grade and its competitive teams for middle school students.
When schools were closed earlier in the pandemic, parents started Kilometer Kids programs in neighborhoods, said Madison Hafitz, who oversees the program. Since 2000, the program has grown each season, to 85 sites in the fall 2022 season with about 4,000 children enrolled.
More youth programs can also expand the adult running community. Basil Rowell had to run to pass physical fitness tests in the Navy, but he stopped after he retired in 2006. His oldest son, Yosif, ran a local one-mile race in Norfolk, Va., when he was 6, and loved it..
“I said, I needed to get in shape so I can start running with him,” Rowell said.
Rowell hated running in the Navy, but with a different motivation, he found he enjoyed it. He started seeing the same people at different races, another change from when he was in the Navy and often away from Norfolk. He got involved in the local running community and serves as vice captain for the Hampton Roads chapter of Black Men Run.
Yosif, now 16, runs for his high school team, and his younger brothers, who are 13 and 9, also run. Sometimes, the four run races together.
“My thing is to show them there is running as an event,” Rowell said. “Me, growing up, I didn’t know they had races.”
Use running to teach life lessons
Program organizers and pro runners both suggested focusing on progress and goal setting rather than times when encouraging children and teens to run.
