NEW BEDFORD — A 7-year-old second-grader has signed up to run the New Bedford Half Marathon.

Jason Beaver of Agawam, a member of the Empire One Running Club in Springfield and whose eighth birthday will be May 11, is believed to be the youngest runner ever to attempt the 13.1-mile course. According to New Bedford's Larry Finnerty, retired assistant superintendent of schools and co-founder of the race, a young boy named Frank Souza ran and finished the first race in 1978.

"I think he was 8 or 9. His mother was the principal at Normandin. She called me because his name wasn't in the paper on Monday," Finnerty said.

The youngster began running competitively in May 2007 and has completed nearly 100 5K races and about a dozen 10K races, according to his father, Spencer Beaver, who will also run Sunday's race.

Most recently, Jason ran the Jones Group 10-mile road race in Amherst on Feb. 22. He finished in 1:32.10 — a 9:13 mile pace — and placed 504 out of 550 finishers.

Jason's goal for 2009 is to set an American age record for 7-year-old boys in the half marathon, which currently stands at 1:50:49 and was set in 1993, his father said. To establish an American record, it must be done at a USATF sanctioned event on a certified course.

The New Bedford race, his first attempt at this distance, will only serve as a training run for his son. Jason plans to run another half marathon in Westfield on April 5, and will attempt to set the record three weeks later on April 26 at the Nutmeg State Half Marathon in Washington, Conn.