Tucker has taken up running.
For the past couple of weeks Tucker has been going out running with me in the evenings. He has already worked up to being able to run 3 miles. Of course, being that he is super competitive, he is already asking when he will be faster than most of the other runners in local 5 and 10k races. Being my normal dream killing realist self, I of course told him that more than likely he would never be fast enough to win some of the larger races like the trolley run here because there are world class runners that compete in those races. However, I did tell him that if he ran reguarly, he would easily be faster than most of his friends (training almost always beats no training), and he would be in shape for some more strenuous backpacking trips such as in the Colorado high country. At any rate, in the end its all about being fit and strong. The more fit and strong you are, the less you will be limited by in the outdoors. If you sit around doing nothing but watching TV all the time, then a fourteener may as well be Everest. However, if you exercise regularly (and strenuously), you can look at a fourteener and know you can get to the top of it. Which is the point, run, bike, do whatever you enjoy doing.