Sept. 13, 2013
For immediate release
Fall Youth Fitness Program trains youth for 2.62-mile maraFUNrun
The Sacramento Running Association’s Fall Youth Fitness Program offers kids a chance to get fit, learn about a healthy lifestyle and experience the joy of running as they train for a special event at the California International Marathon.
This free program teaches children the fun part of running by using very gradual distance increases and rewarding them with special ribbons for distances completed: 5k (3.1 miles), 10k (6.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles) and marathon (26.2 miles).
Kids can start the program eight weeks before the 2.62-mile maraFUNrun held on the same day as the CIM, set for Dec. 8. The maraFUNrun gives kids a chance to run on part of the CIM course and cross the same finish line as the marathoners.
The program, which includes a number of local schools, has introduced more than 40,000 kids to running.
“The start of the Sacramento Running Association’s CIM Fall Youth Fitness Program is an exciting time of year!” SRA Executive Director Ellen Moore said. “The opportunity to offer our community’s youth a program that will challenge them both mentally and physically, educate them on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, and expose them to the joy of fitness is something we take great pride in.
“The future of running depends on drawing our community’s youth into the sport. We very much look forward to a great year with the kids and the educators that make the program possible.”
Interested kids, parents, teachers and school officials can get more information on the fall youth fitness program by visiting www.runcim.org or contacting SRA Youth Fitness Coordinator Alex Mansoor at alex@runsra.org.
The SRA has offered its free Fall Youth Fitness Program since 1988. The program was established in honor of Kenny King, who was Sacramento’s oldest runner at age 77.
SRA also offers a Spring extension of the Fall program that helps kids reach cumulative distances of 50, 75 and 100 miles, a Spring Youth Track & Field Program and a Friday Nights Under the Lights Track Series.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
SRA events include the recent Gold Rush 100k and Freedom Mile, the Folsom Blues Breakout Half Marathon on Oct. 19, the California International Marathon on Dec. 8, the Super Bowl Sunday 10k Run on Feb. 2 and the Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run on April 6.
SRA beneficiaries include the American River Parkway, youth fitness programs, local running venues and aspiring young runners.