PIM Kids is a recent addition to the program that gives parents the opportunity to introduce their children to running in a social setting. Older children with running experience can run with their parent(s) as a family activity. We follow the Road Runners Corporation of America (RRCA) guidelines. See: https://www.rrca.org/programs/kids-run-the-nation/fundamentals-of-youth-running/ They say "children should start a running program with a low-volume, low-intensity plan and limit frequency to a couple of days per week. Workload should increase over the duration of the program, but should remain appropriate for the individual runner." Before puberty children are rapidly growing and changing; excessive training may interfere with normal growth. After puberty, they may increase training distance and duration. RRCA breaks children into different age groups that roughly correspond to elementary, middle, and high school. PIM offers an introduction to running program "PIM Kids" targeted to elementary school age or older children depending on their capability. PIM Kids is open to parents with children that are at least 5 years old. PIM Kids is part of the Power In Motion program and follows the same schedule and has the same benefits. The training schedule will be a gentle build-up of endurance to enable you to run and/or walk a 5k race. Coaches may tailor the program to match the capability of the participants. Depending on their age, maturity and running capability, children enrolled in PIM Kids may run with their parent(s) or guardian, or with another group. See the additional guidelines below. No strollers or pets are allowed. PIM Kids do attend the short, 10 minute, seminars held before the runs. To join the PIM Kids program, you will need to register yourself and your child. Adult fees are the same as for standard PIM. There is a nominal $10 charge to register a child. Shirts for children are available for $5. To register, click on the yellow register button in the top right corner of this page. Parents are responsible for selecting the program appropriate for their child considering their emotional and physical capabilities. Some guidelines:

• Older children – certainly a high school freshman training for track - can join the PIM Kids program and run with one of the standard PIM groups.
• Parental involvement is especially important for middle school age children who mature at different times. Children of age 13 and up can join the PIM Kids program and join the training group that matches their ability, or run with a parent.
• Children under the age of 13 must run with their parent.

Parents whose children no longer want to participate, or are just absent for that day, are free to join one of the other PIM groups. Participants younger than 18 years of age must be registered by a parent or legal guardian. Parents must accompany their child to PIM meetings even though the child may join a different training group than the parent.