Cool Running is Keeping Willie Nelson Fit

Newly healthy country star Willie Nelson has taken up jogging at the age of 74, in a bid to stay fit.

"I have started running. What I was trying to do was do at least as much good in the daytime as I was destroying in the nighttime. But it got to the point where I was losing ground. I had to start trying to stay alive or I was going to die. So I've had to give up the smoking and drinking. And when I quit that and started running, I got a lot healthier."

The dividends of Nelson's new exercise are paying off...for some. Astronaut Alvin Drew was at his running club recently when he was approached by a mutual friend of his and Willie's.

"So we get all done running and cleaned up, and he says, 'Hey, you want us to go over and spend some time at Willie Nelson's bar?' The friend I was with in Austin is a huge Willie Nelson fan, so he said, 'Why don't you come with us. It would be a great thing to go do. We'll go over to Willie Nelson's bar and have a beer, meet Willie Nelson and then have a relaxing afternoon.'" recalled Drew.

Drew wound up being an extra in Nelson's latest music video, set to hit MTV for the first time this weekend. We guess someone's happy Nelson changed his policy on running.

[PR-Inside.com]
[Space.com]