Tonight I had the privilege of being the warm-up leader and one of the many volunteers for the KidStriders (www.iowakidstrong.com) Grand Blue Mile Victory Run. Nearly 700 youth from the Des Moines area showed up to celebrate running a minimum cumulative marathon distance of 26 miles during recess KidStriders sessions. The Victory Run was combined with the Drake Relays' First Annual Grand Blue Mile, which took place in downtown Des Moines.
Before the race, I met with several students participating in the program, and they were ready to run!
This young gal wanted her picture taken with a "real princess!" After the race she gave me a high five (and did the "down low, too slow" thing to boot ...). What a joker!
These ladies are in the "See Us Run Des Moines Program," go to Roosevelt High School, and are going to run in the Des Moines Marathon in October! Good luck with training girls!
This was the finish line!
I ran the entire 1/4 mile race (that is quite the distance for elementary students) in my crown and sash with these two girls. They did a great job! Keep running girls!
As you can see, there were TONS of kids in attendance! This event was fun not only because I got to meet so many enthusiastic children, but because it is an initiative that makes fitness fun and rewarding for students. As a supporter of childhood obesity prevention initiatives, it is so important we support programs like this in the state of Iowa.
No comments:
Post a Comment