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| Serving Callaway County communities since 1875. | www.fultonsun.com | Saturday, July 04, 2009 |
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Fulton boy pulls his way through a marathon over summer By KATHERINE CUMMINS The Fulton Sun
Aiden Petterson, 6, rowed 52,555 meters (32.66 miles) between June 1 and the start of school, showing up almost every day to see how far he could go. Aiden's father, Ken Petterson, said his son actually first started rowing at the age of 4 “partly because I'm an avid rower - I average about a marathon every three days - and our kids mimic what they see us do.” He said the 2008 summer Olympics also played a role in Aiden's decision to aim for a marathon. “We watch the rowing and the running and he thought he wanted to be like an Olympic athlete,” Petterson said. “His goal was to be like a marathon runner, but because it was so hot, we decided to do rowing instead.” Aiden, who logged many of his miles playing the rowing machine's electronic games - designed to make it more fun for younger users - said the most fun part of his summer marathon was “When you're getting away from the sharks in the fishing game.” He said he picked the distance for his rowing challenge “because my dad's a rower, and he rowed a marathon.” “I liked trying to get 2,000 points on the game every day and racing my dad,” Aiden said. “The hardest part was that it made me tired.” “Aiden competed against 13- and 14-year-olds, at the level he was rowing at,” he said. “I don't care what sport Aiden does as long as he stays active and has fun.” Patricia Kelley, CEO of YMCA of Callaway County, said she also was impressed by Aiden's feat. “I think for a young child to have that discipline and that consistency is unusual and shows he has strong support to be active,” she said, noting that she hopes more Callaway children will follow Aiden's example. “The national obesity numbers among children are growing by leaps and bounds, and we have to find more creative ways to get them more interested in being active,” Kelley said. “Our kids are the first generation that will actually have a shorter lifespan because they just are not healthy. “It's really important that we find ways to get our kids active, and rowing is one way to do that.” She said rowing is a particularly good activity because while it provides many physical benefits, it is not as strenuous or taxing on the body as other sports. “It's not as hard on the knees, but the workout is actually as strenuous or more strenuous than running is,” Kelley said. Aiden said he thinks everyone should try rowing, and offered one compelling argument: “It makes your legs really muscle-y and it makes you strong.” |
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