A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the ladies at my local Lululemon store for a very fun opportunity. A local school asked if they knew a runner that would want to participate in a new program, aiming to get kids active. Since I am the store’s running ambassador, they quickly contacted me to gauge my interest. Of course, I jumped at the chance!
This past Monday, I was up bright and early to participate in the first Morning Mile at a local elementary school!
What is Morning Mile? Directly from their website, ”Morning Mile is a before-school walking/running program that gives children the chance to start their day in an active way while enjoying fun, music and friends. It’s supported by a wonderful system of rewards, which keeps students highly motivated and frequently congratulated. It’s a proven project geared towards fighting childhood obesity and increasing the physical activity levels of school children nationwide.”
The entire school gathered on the field behind the school, students and teachers alike, to kick off the program. There were many volunteers involved, along with many people taking part – the Superintendent, Principal, and Vice Principal all made the first lap around the cones for the kick-off. I was even introduced, along with Stephen Jones (a former Olympian!!), along with Ed and Scott – 2 of the program sponsors from PeerFit. We all lined up with the kids and ran the laps with them.
The sponsors, principal, vice principal, and superintendent
The students were all so excited to get to run around before having to go inside for the day. They were laughing, smiling, and running away all of their morning energy. Every morning, any child (and parent) that wants to participate can come to school a few minutes early and do a few laps around the field. 16 laps = 1 mile. For each lap, the kids collect a coffee stirrer-sticks. At the end of each Morning Mile, they count how many sticks they have, and record it on a piece of paper. Once they have reach a total of 5 miles, they get a prize!
I think this is such a great way to get kids active. Not only are they starting their day off by moving (which I’m sure helps the energy levels in the classroom) but they are being reinforced that exercise is a great way to start the day – and that little exercise gains lead to some pretty big wins! Think of how far 5 miles is to a 1st grader! That’s a long way!
I hope that more elementary schools in the Tampa Bay area (and the country for that matter!) adopt this program. It sets such an amazing example for today’s youth and really was a lot of fun too! I can’t wait to go back for another Morning Mile!
Have you ever heard of Morning Mile? What about other programs like this? Any teacher’s out there? Bring this up to your school principal, and get a Morning Mile program started where you live too!
I’ve never heard of Morning Mile–it sounds like a great idea! Wish we had something like this when I was in elementary school!
What a great experience! My elementary school has an afternoon Runners’ Club for students and they love it!
Mary, how great Morning Mile is and how exciting for the school. Hope it catches on all over Tampa, and beyond. Good Luck this weekend in Chicago.
My kids participate in this and love it. They look forward to it every morning. I know this helps with childhood obesity epidemic in our country, but it also does so much more. It teaches them math, they are calculating how much they ran that day, and how much more they need to reach their goal. It has also gives them a sense of time and distance. Thank you Mary for being there, supporting us, and spreading the word of this wonderful program.
What a great idea! I hope there are programs like this in place when my kids are in school.
Ya, me too! I hope more schools can implement these programs!
wow this looks like so much fun! what a great idea!
What a great idea!
When I tutored my “tutee” did that in the morning, I wish my work would do that for us!
Haha, ya! I bet it would make a big difference!
Mary, we would love to have you out to participate with the kids another morning if that would be possible. They would love to run with you again.
Oh cool! I teach middle school and would LOVE to implement a program like this! Such a cool idea! Thanks for sharing