I just can’t say enough about Marathon Kids! What is Marathon Kids? It is an amazing FREE 6 month running and walking program that is currently hosted in 9 major U.S. cities. Basically, kids in grades K-5 who sign up for Marathon Kids commit to running and/or walking 26.2 miles over 6 months (October-March). In addition, the kids also commit to eating at least 26 servings of fruits and veggies per month. All miles and fruits/veggies are logged in both a running log and food log and are based on the honor system. The kids can log their miles at school, walking to school, and any additional runs/walks outside of school hours. Not only do the kids have to commit to their running and eating program, but their parents have to also pledge to help them in their efforts. The program also advocates school gardening as well.
Most kids who join Marathon Kids join through their school site. I personally brought Marathon Kids to Kester Avenue Elementary, where I teach Kindergarten, 4 years ago and it has been a huge success! This year, we had over 400 kids who participated in the program. Teachers can opt to include Marathon Kids miles into their required 100 hours of P.E. For me, I found it helpful to delegate 2 days a week to Marathon Kids. My kids and I would run 1/2 mile every Monday and Wednesday, which we lovingly called “Marathon Mondays” and “Workout Wednesdays”. Those runs are some of my happiest memories with my students!
Marathon Kids also has 2 major events, their Kick-Off and their Final Mile Celebration. These events bring in Marathon Kids from all around the city to get them fired up at the beginning of the program and to celebrate their final mile together. At the Final Mile Celebration, each child earns a shiny medal to mark their accomplishment. In April, all the Marathon Kids will receive their finishers’ t-shirt, even if they could not make it to the final mile event. Best of all, everything is FREE!! ( I know I already mentioned that, but it is so awesome, I had to say it again!)
In Los Angeles, my hometown, we get to have our kick-off and final mile events at the gorgeous UCLA campus. That’s where I was this past Saturday. I got to meet up with my students and other students from my school, along with thousands of other Los Angeles children, to celebrate the end of their 6 month commitment. It was such a treat to share in their excitement and pride of setting a goal and accomplishing it. Not only that, I am always filled with so much pride to show my students the beautiful campus that I once attended and to get them thinking and dreaming about going to college (GO BRUINS!!). The kids are cheered on their final half mile by the UCLA athletes and even get to meet them and get posters with their signatures after their last run! I can only say that I am honored to be the Lead Teacher at my elementary school for Marathon Kids and that I deeply believe in this program.
When all the finishers’ shirts arrive to my campus, and I get them out to all 400+ participants, we will proudly wear our shirts and medals at our school morning assembly. Hopefully, this will encourage even more kids at my school to become involved and get running next year! The energy and excitement of this program is contagious!
If you have been looking for a cause to invest your time and/or money into, I highly recommend you consider Marathon Kids. They gladly take donations and in fact, that is how they have been able to keep this event free for 15 years and expand to 9 cities.
Don’t take my word for how amazing this program is! Take a look at my video…you will feel the excitement and love of good health this program brings! Run on and eat well!
Anita this is AWESOME! Thank you so much for getting Kester involved and for promoting Marathon Kids! Teachers like you are what makes Marathon Kids successful!!! See you next year!
Marinda, it is my privilege to do this! Thank YOU for making Marathon Kids a reality! My students love this program!!
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