THERESA: We've decided to get a Girlfriends contingent together to run the Race for the Cure on Mother's Day... who's in?

ELLEN: Maybe it’s your enthusiasm. Maybe it’s the spring-like weather. Or maybe it’s my expanding waistline. Whatever. I’m thinking I’d try for the Mother’s Day Race.

My knee and back are in good shape because of the weight training. I can’t go running at lunch but I can use the treadmill at night and the bike. What’s your tip for an old bag like me to start to train for this run? How long do I have to run each day - is there a formula?

YVONNE: Good for you for wanting to do the Race for the Cure,Ellen. You're right to be thinking about your knees foremost. I would say if you aren't walking yet do that first. A couple of miles at a stretch, three or four times a week. After say two weeks where you really build up your endurance, regulate your breathing and get a feel for what your legs can take, then you begin to run. SLOW. Run on a course you are already familiar with. Any athlete will tell you endurance is 90 percent mental. Build up your running distances slow, I'd say, until you can do 3.5 to 4 miles at your own pace. Don't worry about the sprinters around you. And let your body's recovery time tell you when to run again - not guilt and not what others do. Keep up that weight training, especially inner and outer thigh because the stronger those parts are the less stresss on the knees.

ELLEN: That is great advice, Yvonne. I did walk about five miles over the weekend. From what you suggest, it sounds like I should be doing 3 miles twice a week at this point?

JENICE: Can I chime in on this? I want to remind everyone that you don't have to flat out run these races. You can jog, trot, skip or even walk if you get tired. If you keep that in mind plus the fact that not everyone who enters these things are true "runners," you'll be less intimidated.

THERESA: Right. It's perfectly OK to walk all or part of a fun run. The Race for the Cure offers a choice between doing a one-mile walk or 3.1 mile run or walk. Last year I ran it with April, and it was just one week after the Broad Street Run. I felt great running the 10 miles of Broad Street, but was pretty pooped out a week later, so I took the 3-miler really slow, while April zipped way ahead of me.

I got to talking with a very smart trainer last week, Kimberly Garrison, and she told me that women runners need to take special precautions to avoid osteoporosis. So I asked her to share her expertise with us, and we'll post that tomorrow.