Harlingen Marathon Kids!
Free Final Mile Medal Celebration!
Five month, free Harlingen running/walking and nutrition program finale!
Saturday, April 29, 2006
10 a.m.
FREE!
Harlingen CISD + area schools
2,000 K-5th graders + families and teachers
Harlingen CISD Boggus Stadium
Presented by Valley Baptist Health System
The Moody Foundation, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Meadows Foundation
Harlingen, Texas—It’s the Final Mile Medal Celebration for 2,000 little Harlingen CISD K-5th graders, who have been incrementally running and walking 26.2 miles over five months!
In its first year in the Texas Rio Grande Valley, the Kindergartners through 5th graders are completing their five month, free project. Their community-wide, free Final Mile Medal Celebration is Saturday, April 29 at 10 a.m., at Harlingen’s Boggus Stadium. The stadium and parking is graciously donated by Harlingen CISD.
The net was thrown wide so that all Harlingen K-5th children can be 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 classes and/or at home, to achieve their 26.2 miles and learn to make healthy food choices.
During the five months, the children run, eat healthy and incrementally color in:
- Marathon Kids Running Log© They color in as they run at school and/or with their family in 1/4 to 1/2 mile increments over five months.
- Marathon Kids Fuel Log© They color in the Marathon Kids Fuel Log when they eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day for 26.2 days! A marathon of healthy eating!
Marathon Kids is presented in the Texas Rio Grande Valley by Valley Baptist Health System. CEO Jim Springfield of Valley Baptist Health System said “Valley Baptist is committed to the health of our children, as is demonstrated by our building the state of the art Matt and Patty Gorges Children’s Center. We have also partnered with the Driscoll Children’s Hospital to provide pediatric management. Two of the main threats to our children’s health are diabetes and obesity. When we heard about Marathon Kids® and the endorsement it had received from their Advisory Board Member, Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Commissioner of the Texas Department of Health Services, we were honored to step up and provide the sponsorship to bring this hugely successful program to the Rio Grande Valley.”
Marathon Kids is a ten year old non-profit now in Austin, Dallas, Harlingen and Houston. There are almost 100,000 K-5th graders now doing the free Marathon Kids program. This is the first year to launch in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Marathon Kids target market are those children most vulnerable to childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes. There are 291 towns and cities on the Marathon Kids waiting list, as well as 13 foreign countries.
Community runners, Physical Educators and other fitness enthusiasts, Valley Baptist Health System employees join in to help the children at their KickOff Celebration this January.
At the Final Mile Medal Celebration on April 29 Valley Baptist Health System’s Randy Baker and Harlingen CISD Superintendent Dr. Linda Wade will announce "Marathon Kids Day!" and run with selected children in the ceremonial flag lap. Also in the opening, ceremonial flag lap will be twenty little Harlingen CISD elementary school representatives. Running with the twenty children in the opening, ceremonial lap will be:
- Dr. Linda Wade, Superintendent of HCISD
- Tricia Morrow, Asst Supt of HCISD Elementary Education
- Randy Baker, Senior Vice President, Valley Baptist Health System
- Hector Fuentes, Harlingen CISD Physical Education
- Harlingen Police Department/SAVE team Joe Gonzalez
- Dr. Leo Vela, Dean of Univeristy of Texas Health Science Center's Regional Academic Health Center
- Thomas Hanson, United Space Alliance Running Club, Trainer of the NASA Astronauts
Harlingen jazz saxophonist Rene Sandoval will play "The Star Spangled Banner" as the flag lap children and dignitaries complete the opening run. A Marathon Kid will hand a bouquet to each dignitary at the beginning of the ceremonial Flag Lap.
As all the children cross the Finish Line, after running in “rounds”, they will be given their EARNED free Marathon Kids Finisher Medal. During the five month program, all incentives were EARNED. In May, in Harlingen area school assemblies, the children will receive their Marathon Kids Finisher T-shirts.
Families with questions about Marathon Kids should visit http://www.MarathonKids.com/ or ask their school PE teacher about future participation.
If you would like to VOLUNTEER at this April 29 event, please contact Diana Garcia at (956) 494-4055 or diana.garcia@dshs.state.tx.us
Marathon Kids® was recently featured in the December issue of Runners World Magazine as one of 2005’s Ten Inspirational Heroes of Running. It has been featured in The Weekly Reader, Scholastic News, USA Today, Nurses Digest, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American Statesman, Prevention Magazine, etc. The weekend of April 22, Marathon Kids will be featured in CNN’s Medical/Health FitNation report by Sanjay Gupta, MD.
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www.MarathonKids.com
www.valleybaptist.net
http://www.valleystar.com/articles/2006/01/08/local_news/local_news6.txt http://www.valleystar.com/articles/2006/01/15/local_news/local_news4.txt http://texassports.com/images/photo_gallery/2004_05/003/marathonkids/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-09-17-marathon-kids_x.htm http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/02/20marathonkids.html
