Kids have Tidewater Striders' New Energy to stay in shape

By Lia Russell
Virginian-Pilot correspondent
? January 3, 2012

Travis Redmond loves to run so much that his mom cracks jokes about it.

?I think he started running in my womb,? Debbie Redmond says.

?Even as a very young child, he would come home from school and literally run laps around the house.?

Now Redmond, 13, of Virginia Beach is one of about 150 boys and girls who run with the Tidewater Striders? New Energy youth program. Young runners are coached and mentored by experienced members of the 2,000-strong Tidewater Striders running club, one of the largest and most active in the nation, according to Angelo Celesia, who runs the youth program.

New Energy has been around Virginia Beach for nearly three decades, and two years ago it expanded to Suffolk. This year, it reached Norfolk, inspiring more Hampton Roads children to don their sneakers and hit the pavement.

The program also recently caught the attention of the Road Runners Club of America, a national association of running clubs. It gave the youth program an $800 Kids Run the Nation grant to help publicize and expand its reach.

Last year, New Energy also received a $4,500 grant from the Obici Healthcare Foundation, whose mission is to improve health and wellness by promoting programs that prevent illness and disease.

Dan Edwards, a Tidewater Strider for 21 years and chairman of its Youth Committee, is also chairman of the RRCA?s board of directors. He wrote the Kids Run the Nation grant for New Energy and is one of the program?s greatest advocates.

?Running is such a simple, low-cost sport in which to participate,? Edwards said. ?All you need is a decent pair of shoes, and you?re ready to do it. You don?t need equipment or a team.?

Edwards said running is an excellent family activity ? promoting positive values and a healthy lifestyle.

?It?s probably the most effective aerobic activity, which is tremendously healthy and something that we as a community and a nation need more of considering the issues we have with weight and obesity,? he said.

New Energy is coached by dozens of volunteers who train the young athletes twice weekly for one hour. There is no cost to participants; the young members simply join the Striders for an annual membership fee of $10.

?We appeal to a wide variety of young runners ? kids who have never run before to very elite runners,? Celesia said.

?Some just do it for fun, and some are very focused on competition. They get to decide what they want to do and how hard they want to work.?

Runners, ages 6 to 16, are assigned to groups based on their age, ability and interest.

Travis Redmond, who enjoys long-distance running, said it has helped him excel in other sports in which he participates.

?I?ve got more endurance in baseball and am much faster at basketball,? said Travis, who attends Kemps Landing Magnet School.

His brother, Patrick, 11, a fifth-grader at Old Donation Center in Virginia Beach, started running in second grade. Like Travis, he enjoys the personal challenge that running offers.

Both boys said they have made friends with other young runners by working out with New Energy.

?You can hang out with your friends and before the running starts, you can talk to them and then start running and have fun together,? Patrick said.

?Some of my best friends, I made through New Energy,? Travis added.

Their mother manages the Virginia Beach New Energy team and said she has been impressed by the adult support for the program.

?Even though it is competitive, there is a really positive, supportive environment,? she said. ?I hate to say that it?s not like that with other sports, but I have seen a difference.?

Celesia said the adults often train with the children.

?Our goal is to get out there with our young runners and show them the path to lifelong fitness,? he said. ?When they see us old guys in their 60s running, we don?t need to teach them the results of staying active ? they can see it.?

Lia Russell, 582-6865, rhett2lia@cox.net

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Source: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/01/kids-have-tidewater-striders-new-energy-stay-shape

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