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Home » Exercise Programs » Kids' groups encourage running and biking for exercise, health

A group of kids participates in We All Run last week, one of two new programs designed especially for area youth to introduce them to a more active lifestyle. (Anniston Star photo by Sarah Cole)

When it was over, this mile-long run in June heat, Fantroy grinned wide and big.

That felt good, he said. He shook his head. Yeah, Ive felt pretty good these past few days.

Fantroy, an incoming senior at the high school, is one of a handful of Anniston adolescents who participates in a new running group designed especially for area youth. We All Run and its sister program We All Ride are two recent efforts by community leaders to encourage city students and west Anniston kids to live healthier lives.

Joe Jankoski, the driving force behind both groups, said the goal of the programs is multi-faceted. He wants to help expose the areas running and cycling opportunities like the Woodstock 5K footrace and the Coldwater Mountain bike trail system to kids who might otherwise not experience them, while also encouraging the kind of vigorous lifestyle that keeps obesity, an epidemic in Alabama and across the nation, at bay.

If they enjoy it now and keep at it, theyll be runners in five years, said Jankoski, who is also director of the Calhoun County Community Development Corporation. Its a healthy activity, and its a healthy lifestyle choice.

No gym needed

The running group started two weeks ago and meets regularly at Anniston High to help kids train for the Woodstock 5K, a nationally acclaimed event that draws hundreds of runners from around the country and similar numbers from the city itself but has attracted low levels of participation from west Anniston neighborhoods, according to a 2011 Star analysis. Meanwhile, We All Ride began last Thursday and provides interested youth with donated mountain bikes, lessons on bike safety and supervised trips to the new Coldwater Mountain trails.

The efforts come on the heels of a federal study that shows obesity rates in Alabama high schools are some of the highest in the nation. Promoting lifelong physical activity one of the objectives of We All Run and We All Ride effectively curbs obesity and the health issues it can cause, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the study.

It shows them more things that are available to them in the community, and it gets everyone involved, Jankoski said during the first We All Ride meeting at the Carver Community Center. Thats how were going to change some of these things: You can run. You can ride a bike.

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Kids' groups encourage running and biking for exercise, health

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Home » Exercise Programs » Kids' groups encourage running and biking for exercise, health