Mike Walsh with the North Carolina Roadrunners Club says the problem with last Saturday's kickoff of the club's Kids on the Run Program wasn't attracting potential runners. It was convincing them that the program only cost $10.

"We had standing room only, probably 30 people in the room," Walsh, the club's president, wrote in an e-mail message after the event. "The funniest thing was, no one could quite believe the program was $10 for everything, and we had to explain a few times that it wasn't $10 each week, it was really just $10 for the whole program."

Kids on the Run is designed to introduce "kids of all ages" to running. The program consists of seven weekly clinics culminating in a final exam of sorts: the June 16 Kassel 5K race -- that's 3.1 miles -- and 1-mile fun run.

For that $10, a kid gets: weekly training at the clinics, a Roadrunners Club of America Training Guide, a $10 discount on an N.C. Roadrunners Club family membership (normally $30) and assorted gear coupons.

And the perk that probably caused the confusion about the $10: A Kids on the Run T-shirt.

Walsh, who is 39, didn't start running until he was 33, and Alisa Wright Colopy of the Cary nonprofit Fit & Able Productions hatched the plan as a noncompetitive alternative to other running and triathlon programs aimed at kids.

"We wanted to do something based more on fitness and friendship," Walsh says.

The weekly clinics are to be held at different locations in Apex, Cary and Raleigh. Each will begin with a 15-minute talk on nutrition, safety, flexibility and various other topics having to do with running. Walsh says the folks leading the clinics are all certified in the subject du jour.

After the chat, there will be a 45-minute running program.

"The running program will vary," Walsh says. "One week we may be going out on a distance run. Then maybe we'll do a little bit of speed work."

By June 16, Walsh says, kids in the program should have no trouble passing the Kassel final.

"A lot of school systems are not providing the opportunity to do an organized sport until junior high," says Walsh, whose children are 4 and 6.

The few existing programs mostly resulted from the initiative of a teacher.

At Adams Elementary School in Cary, for instance, third-grade teacher Christina Vanzandt started the Marathon Maniacs Running Club this school year as part of an effort to stress physical activity, nutrition and running as a hobby. More than 180 students signed on.

For the most part, though, kids must learn about running on the streets. Literally, Walsh says. And that scares many parents.

"We're hoping [this program] can give families a chance to do something together," Walsh says. Children 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

"Running is great for children," says Walsh. "It requires no investment and you can do it almost anywhere you have shoes on your feet."

Well, almost no investment: What about those shoes, which can run $100 or more for adults?

First, Walsh says kids' running shoes are considerably cheaper. Besides, parents who might balk at paying even $30 for a pair of running shoes their kids will outgrow in a year or so can take heart from his example.

"I go through mine in about three months."

The second clinic in the seven-week series is Saturday at Apex Community Park.

Grown-up runs

Mike Walsh may have started running late, but he has made up for it by running far.

He began running seriously in 2001; today, he has 24 marathons under his belt. And this month, when he is not helping kids learn the finer points of running, he'll be orchestrating a couple of ... unusual long runs for more seasoned runners.

Saturday is the club's first-ever organized run along the 14-mile N.C. Museum of Art/Reedy Creek/Black Creek greenway trail. Interested runners should report to Playmakers Sports Bar across Hillsborough Street from Meredith College at 3 p.m. From there, shuttles will be run to the other end of the trail, at Godbold Park in Cary.

The run itself will be along the longest continuous stretch of greenway in the Triangle. From Godbold Park, the trail runs north along Black Creek to Lake Crabtree. There, it hops on Old Reedy Creek Road, then enters Umstead State Park.

At the Airport Overlook in Umstead, the trail turns southeast, eventually exiting the park at Trenton Road. It continues to the Museum of Art property, over the Beltline and across the Meredith campus, ending at Faircloth/Gorman and Hillsborough streets. Fourteen miles on the nose.

That's a mere warm-up for the next long run: an end-to-end exploration of the Falls Lake Trail, 26.7 miles in all. (The newest 7.2-mile stretch west of N.C. 98 isn't included in this run.)

Details are being worked out. Contact Walsh at mikew_nt@yahoo.com for details, or keep your eye on the Get Out! Get Fit Blog! at http://blogs.newsobserver.com/joemiller.