The picture in the article is also the picture that I use for my screen saver on my work computer. Running together as a family is something that I really enjoy doing, and I find the picture is a pick-me-up at work. My children are young and I think initially they wanted to come running because I like to run. However, after a couple of races I think that the older two have caught the same bug that drives me-the bug of trying to get just a little bit faster. In the years to come if they maintain this bug they will find themselves getting up in the very early hours on a Saturday morning to get a run in before the day gets too hectic. They will have tight, sore leg muscles, especially when they jump out of bed in the morning. They will watch what they eat or at least feel guilty about not watching what they eat. Running will help them learn to set goals and they will also have a great sense of accomplishment as they achieve their goals.

Running can do all of these things for my children because it has and continues to do these things for me. I started with the idea of losing some weight and lowering my blood pressure. I found that it not only did those things for me but that it opened up a whole world I thought I would never be a part of. Running has become something that I crave.

Saturday mornings after my long runs I’ll come home to find my children ready to go for a run with Dad. They are excited and start like sprinters competing in the 100-yard dash. My legs are already tired from my long run so they pull ahead easily. I run with my youngest daughter Ashlyn. She was four when this picture was taken and is just very happy to be jogging. She runs about twenty or thirty feet and then we walk for a while. Saturday morning runs with the children are a lot of fun. Our course is close to home because we run around the block. My two older children lap us when we are a little bit over halfway. They yell out a smart remark that seems to motivate Ashlyn for a while again. These runs are a lot of fun. Ashlyn and I finish our lap about the same time that Kaitlyn and Porter finish their second laps. We are all exhausted and spend a second stretching. These are good times and I hope that as my children grow the running bug will always be with them. A life filled with healthy activity and a desire to improve will be the result.