Marathon Kids: 20,000 Houston Area K-5th children participating

Houston Area
Marathon Kids®

Final Mile Medal Celebration (free!)
10 a.m.
Saturday, March 31

Houston ISD Barnett Stadium
6800 Fairway

20,000 Houston Area K-5th children
participating in six month free program
2nd year!

Ceremonial Last Mile
free, six month,
nationally recognized 26.2 mile
running/walking, nutrition and schoolyard garden program!

Presented by
Whole Foods Market
Subway
The Meadows Foundation
Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
The Moody Foundation
The Simmons Foundation
Get Moving Houston
Houston Area Road Runners Association

Finale of free, six month running/walking/nutrition program for K-5th graders!
www.MarathonKids.com

Houston--Thousands of little Houston area K-5th grade school children and parents have been running and walking 26.2 miles over the last six months, with their parents and/or at school. Coloring in their incremental running logs in ¼ to ½ mile segments, they also have been coloring in each day they eat 5-a-day fruits and veggies. Besides running/walking 26.2 miles, their goal was to eat 26.2 days a month of 5-a-day fruits and veggies, to fuel their 26.2 miles of running over six months!

Saturday, March 31, at 10 a.m. sharp, at HISD’s Barnett Stadium, 6800 Fairway click here for map , they gather in a glorious ceremonial Final Mile as they finish what seemed at first an insurmountable project.

In its second year in Houston, the nationally acclaimed, free Marathon Kids® running/walking and nutrition program expects 6,000 of the 20,000 registered Houston children to run on Saturday at Houston ISD’s Barnett Stadium. Districts invited to participate in the free program this year are Houston ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Spring Branch ISD, Clear Creek ISD, private schools and homeschoolers.

The stadium is graciously donated by Houston ISD Athletics, for the March 31 Final Mile occasion.

This past September, the K-5th graders either shyly or boldly raised their hand in class and said "Yes! I think I can run/walk 26.2 miles over the next six months! And, yes, I will commit to running 1/4 to 1/2 mile either at school or with my parents!" The net is thrown wide. All children can be Houston Marathon Kids: fast/slow, overweight/slender, rich/poor, sighted/blind, able/disabled, deaf/hearing. Parents join in with the children, as the children work hard through Physical Education offering and/or at home, coloring in their incremental miles and learning to make healthy food choices.

The free Marathon Kids six month program is presented in the Houston area to public and private school districts, homeschools, private schools, by Whole Foods Market. Supporting sponsor is Subway. Critical to keeping the nationally recognized six month program free is The Moody Foundation, The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The Meadows Foundation and The Simmons Foundation.

Physical Educators are a critical conduit for Marathon Kids curriculum, encouraging a lifetime of physical activity and health for children. These teachers integrate the program as a key element in their ongoing goal setting, activity and nutrition work, set by Marathon Kids and their own Standards for Physical Education. It is the fervent goal of Marathon Kids to build habits over the six months not only of a lifetime of physical activity but also to nurture promotion of more Physical Education for all children in the USA.

Marathon Kids® is a ten year old non-profit. Birthed as a grassroots initiative, it is now in Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Rio Grande Valley. There are over 100,000 K-5th graders now doing the nationally recognized, free Marathon Kids program. Marathon Kids target market are those children most vulnerable to childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes: African American and Hispanic children. There are 294 towns and cities on the Marathon Kids waiting list, as well as 14 foreign countries.

Community runners, Physical Educators, Classroom Teachers, local fitness enthusiasts, Whole Foods Market Team Members, community volunteers, Subway volunteers, runners from Houston Area Road Runners etc., all make the free Final Mile Medal Celebration event a glorious experience for the little children.

At the free Final Mile Medal Celebration, NASA Astronaut Charles Camarda will run with the “Flag Lap Marathon Kids” in the ceremonial flag lap. Jazz saxophonist Warren Sneed will play the “Star Spangled Banner.”

Also participating in the opening, ceremonial flag lap will be a Houston Marathon Kids Bouquet Presenter who will hand flowers to:

Candyce Speidel, Whole Foods Market Community Relations
Representative from Houston Subway Stores
Rose Haggerty, Houston ISD Physical Education Coordinator (middle and high school)
Jose Santiago, Houston ISD Physical Education Coordinator (elementary)
Chris McClung and Chauncey Williams, Houston Marathon Kids Volunteer Coordinators
Debbie Fuchs, Clear Creek ISD Physical Education Coordinator
Representative from Fort Bend ISD Physical Education
Representative from Spring Branch ISD Physical Education
NASA Astronaut and runner Charles Camarda

As all the children cross under the magnificent gold balloon arch at the Final Mile Celebration Finish Line, after running in “rounds”, they will be given their EARNED free Finisher Medals, Reward Bumper Stickers. During the six month program, all incentives must be EARNED. Later in school assemblies, they will receive their Marathon Kids Finisher T-shirts.

Families with questions about Marathon Kids should visit http://www.MarathonKids.com/ or ask their Physical Educator or Principal about participation.

Marathon Kids® was featured in the December issue of Runners World Magazine as one of 2005’s Ten Inspirational Heroes of Running. It has been showcased in The Weekly Reader, Scholastic News, USA Today, Nurses Digest, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American Statesman, Her Sports Magazine., Prevention Magazine etc. The free Los Angeles Marathon Kids program just received the national Saucony “Run for Good” Award. The LA program also has an upcoming feature in Nick Jr Magazine.

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..a global collaboration of families running/walking and making healthy food choices

Our Mission: Marathon Kids® is a ten year old, free, endurance building running/walking/nutrition/gardening program for kindergartners through 5th graders. Our mission is to build joyful community around children and be quickly accepted into public, private and home schools as a free, innovative celebratory fitness program, resonating with the child…and with the child's family. The goal is for the child to develop the love and habit of moving through space and to carry forward the power of muscular, nutritional and psychological well being.

Volunteer? Chris_mcclung@yahoo.com or chauncy.williams@gmail.com
Media? Sponsorship? Questions? Kay@MarathonKids.com

Contributions to keep six month program free? www.MarathonKids.com Thank you!