There are a lot of reasons we run: to lose weight, to be more active, become one with mother nature, spread running and a healthy lifestyle to others and to feel good about oneself. For me, it WAS all of the above. I’ve been lucky to accomplish all of these goals and more. I’ve even been able to make a more meaningful connection to God thru running. All of these are great, except there’s something missing. Over the last couple of years, there’s been a void that I haven’t been able to fill, until now – passing my passion for running to the next generation.

According to the American Heart Association, one in three children in America are overweight or obese. That’s ridiculous. I know the culture in the United States provides less time for us to promote a healthy lifestyle in our kids but come on!!! How are we able to reverse this trend of Fat Americans by not attacking the root of the problem, the next generation.

Our kids idolize us. No matter what we do, the see it. Like it or not you are a roll model (take that Charles Barkley). You may not have signed the waiver but if you have kids, it’s part of the package. It’s your responsibility whether you like it or not. If you’re a runner, this should be a no brainer. Your kids WANT to be a part of your life. If running is your thing, you should be more than willing to share the experience with them.

This premise finally hit me over the head in December. The day after running the Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon, my eldest son cornered me and said he would like to try running a race with me. After processing the statement for a brief moment, my response was “heck yeah!” While I’ve always hoped my kids would follow in my footsteps, I never wanted to be that parent that “forced” their kids to fulfill my dream. The other thing this declaration did was stir another desire in me – passing what I learned (too late in life) to the next generation. If I could inspire my kids to lead a healthy, productive life – what ripple effect could that possibly create? The repercussions are limitless!!!

I grew up with a father who was part of the original running boom. Although I didn’t know it at the time, he greatly inspired me to take up running later in life. I have frequently have flashbacks of him heading off for a morning run in his cotton white t-shirt and rundown New Balance shoes held together with Shoe Goo [If he knew what he knew now, he just would have bought new shoes]. While I wish his inspiration would have grabbed my subconscious sooner than it did, I’m glad it finally burrowed its way thru my thick scull.

Now it’s my turn. While my kids have seen me head out the door running for six years now, it’s time to really set the wheels in motion. My son (11 years old) and I have started training together. We call them “Son Runs” and they’re the most fulfilling runs that I’ve ever been a part of. Not only does my heart fill with emotion when he flashes that huge grin at me before we start but we’ve gotten even closer with our solitary time spent together. It’s amazing how much you can learn about your offspring by spending 10-20 minutes with them alone on the road. You begin to realize that they do listen, they do grow up and they become a spitting image of you.

We don’t ever listen as closely as should. Our minds our preoccupied by a stressful day at work, everyday issues and the ever quickening pace of our lives. If I could ever hope anything from this post is that you’ll take two minutes out of your day and think about how you can pay it forward. How something as little as inviting your child on a run could set them on a path early in life that they will one day thank you for.

Our date has been set for the 2012 Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. Dad and son will run together in what will be for me, the greatest moment in my life.

Thank you dad for in some way inspiring me to become the man I am today. I in turn can only hope that my sons will say the same thing to me, 20 years from now.

RMFR

I’d like to take this time to wish my father a Happy Father’s Day. He has always been there for me and supported me in every direction I’ve head. From supporting me thru sports to waving goodbye as I’ve moved across the country, he (as well as my mother) have let me venture off away from the nest. Where does this fit in to running? Read on…

Growing up in North Dakota, I was entrenched in seasonal sports. Football in the spring followed closely by hockey in the winter. Spring and summer where split between baseball, golf and mowing lawns (in my mind I considered mowing lawns a sport). The furthest sport from my mind was track. I threw the spot put and discus in eight grade but I wasn’t into at all. In high school, the football coaches at Fargo South High School (Go Bruins!!!) kept pushing me to the track team but I just couldn’t do it. What would you rather do, run laps or walk 18?

Take a trip back with me to the late 1970′s and 80′s. Then in my adolescent years, I never really paid much thought to the “modified” gray New Balance shoes in the garage next to the door. “Modified” may not be the best term to describe the 2 pounds of Shoe Goo that my dad used to keep the shoes together. I can still remember his running gear. A simple white cotton shirt (the kind you wore underneath “nice” shirts), shorts and toilet tissue in his hand (do I really need to explain?).

My dad was a “runner” before the boom. He didn’t compete in races and he wasn’t a member of running group – he just ran. He’s fathomed a guess at his weekly mileage and it was big. I remember several occasions my mother driving him out into the country so he could run home with the wind. We’re talking 10 to 15 miles several times a week. Saturdays at the lake where he would be gone for a couple of hours and come back drenched in sweat. Cotton shirts that were worn so thin you could practically see thru them.

Back then I never questioned his running, never asked if I could go and he never pushed me to run with him. But now that I’ve taking up running and he can no longer run – the example he set some 20 years ago has stuck with me. I know he’d give his left arm to run a race with my sister and I and we in turn would do the same. The truth is, there’s a part of him that is running with us every time we lace up our shoes.

Thanks Pa!!! You led by example – in running and in life – and I am trying to follow in your footsteps the best I can. Happy Father’s Day and I love you very much.