Ready to get in shape? Dog Days starting soon

What started with six high school football players 25 years ago has become the largest, most popular community exercise program in Lawrence.

For another season, Red Dog’s Dog Days will return to Kansas University’s Memorial Stadium. The program has attracted hundreds of participants, with a record of 1,005 participants in one day.

“We didn’t have any idea it would go this long,” said Don “Red Dog” Gardner, organizer of the event. He and friend Jim O’Connell originally started an after-school conditioning program specifically for high school football players. It expanded to more high school athletes the next couple of years and continued to gain momentum.

“I’m to blame,” Gardner said of the program’s growth. “When I said, ‘Bring your little brother, little sister, bring parents, bring your friends,’ then people started showing up. Those people have become involved, and they are what makes it great.”

The workout varies each session but consists of calisthenics and a one- to three-mile run.

The 2008 edition of Dog Days begins June 3. Sessions will be at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the stadium. Sessions generally last 30 to 45 minutes. Starting July 1, sessions will be at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, also at the stadium. Saturday runs will begin at 7 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. June 7, taking off from the southeastern corner of the parking lot at the Lied Center.

Participants need to sign a waiver, which can be found at www.reddogsdogdays.org. The waiver can be taken to the first session.

“You find you can do more than you thought you could,” Gardner said of the community workout.

He encouraged people to arrive early and to bring a bottle of water and positive attitude.

To mark this year’s anniversary, Gardner’s wife, Beverly Gardner, who also helps organize the workout program, is planning an event following the July 17 evening program at Abe & Jake’s Landing. Details will be announced later.