"Ignoramus9483" wrote in message
...
My son is 8 years old and surprised me recently. He could not run all
the way up to a 30 foot tall (in my estimation) hill.

It's possible he's out of shape, but don't rule out medical possibilities.
All my life, I could not run without getting short of breath. I just
thought I was out of shape. It wasn't until I was an adult and diagnosed
with asthma that I realized it was my asthma. My kids also have asthma.
When DS played soccer, he got very tired; but after I started giving him his
inhaler before playing, he could run like everyone else. Not getting enough
oxygen can tire anyone out.