Finish Like a Champion
A partnership between Track Shack and Marathon Kids by Megan Keller
Think back to your elementary and middle school days. You either loved your PE class or had an elaborate list of reasons to sit out. Either way, we’re all familiar with those famous four left turns – the track. Whether it took you seven laps around the PE field to complete a mile or four, if you were required to run a mile or just collect as many popsicles sticks as you could; running as a child is a fundamental part of our lives.
This fall, Track Shack and [marathonkids.org] Marathon Kids, a national organization dedicated to getting kids active, have teamed up to provide an easy, fun, and FREE way for kids to complete 26.2 miles and Finish Like A Champion!
Finish Like a Champion in a six-month running program that encourages healthy habits both physically and nutritionally in elementary and middle school-aged children. Our ultimate goal is to get our community excited about the Olympic Marathon Team Trials – Marathon that will be hosted in Orlando on February 3, 2024.
Participating schools and running clubs will be provided with the materials necessary to educate young runners on this program and process. We are fortunate to be using the wonderfully created resources from Marathon Kids. This programming is made up of easy-to-use online tracking that provides clear visuals that are tailored to schools or clubs.
The goal of this running program is to have kids run 26.2 miles between now and the Orlando Magic 5k, 1 Mile and Kid’ Runs presented by AdventHealth on Saturday, February 4, 2024, and stay excited about running. Students are more than welcome to participate in the community race even if they do not reach their marathon status.
Track Shack and Marathon Kids understand the importance and value of health and safety while training a child as it pertains to running. This program was created to introduce the sport while providing necessary tools like habit and nutrition tracking to lay a solid foundation for their future.
This program is a part of a Master of Science in Kinesiology Graduate Internship project for Megan Keller, a staff member of Track Shack. She will have the full support of Natalie Casey, VP of Communications, the Track Shack Youth Foundation, and key members of local school districts to be successful in this task. She is passionate about all things human movement, exercise science, and sports data analytics. She has had previous experience with long-term sports data tracking during her time working with D1 athletes at UCF and has participated in local road races since she was 8 years old. Her last race was the Walt Disney World Marathon and she hopes to bring the joy and thrill of marathon racing to the next generation.
Check out Marathon Kids for tons of resources and inspiration! Want your child to participate? Reach out via their school or run club to see if they have registered. No registration? No worries! We recommend looking into their family programming that you can do at home!
Stay up to date on all our opportunities for kids like our free Kids Races at our local events! Follow along on our socials for more fun news!
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