Kilometer Kids is a program created by the Atlanta Track Club in partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of metro Atlanta; Arthur Blank Family YMCA; East Lake Family YMCA; Gwinnett Family YMCA; Andrew & Walter Young Family YMCA serving these Elementary and Middle Schools: Heritage, Seaborn Lee, Palmetto, Mt. Olive, Liberty Point, Cascade, Venetian Hills, Finch, Fickett, E.L. Connally, Continental Colony, Beecher, L.O. Kimberly, Deerwood, Bunch and Paul D. West. Our goal is to provide over 2,000 area youth the opportunity to improve fitness through a fun and supportive running program. We will host the program in 17 different sites throughout eight counties in the metro Atlanta area. We anticipate our program will positively impact families, as children inspire their parents to improve their personal health and fitness!
Spring 2010: Kilometer Kids will begin on Monday, March 22nd. The spring edition introduces the children to the sport of track and field, emphasizing the skills of warming up, stretching, correct running techniques, and the use of track and field equipment. Young runners will take part in various track events during the Atlanta All-Comers Track and Field Series held each Tuesday evening dates at Emory University's track site beginning on May 4th. Kilometer Kids will also take part in the Atlanta Track Club’s annual Peachtree Jr. 3K at Piedmont Park, to be held on Saturday, May 22, 2010.
Fall 2010: The Fall edition of the program is designed to allow each child to complete a “marathon” over the 10- week period. Children will meet twice a week for training runs at one of the 11 area Boys & Girls Club locations or participating schools who are serviced by the Metro Atlanta YMCA. Each runner will track their progress in their own training logs and receive incentive prizes along the way. After completing 25.2 miles in training, they will run their final mile of their marathon at the marathon on ThanksgivingDay, crossing the finish line under the Olympic rings just like the running in the main event. At the end of the session, Kilometer Kids will earn a long sleeve t-shirt and medal as their award.
This past fall, we offered a pilot program of Kilometer Kids to Stetson University in Florida. The program taught young runners about the importance of nutrition while being active. As the children completed their 25.2 miles of training, they were taught how to “log their miles” on their training logs. To conclude their fall session the young runners participated in the DeLand Christmas Parade where they ran the final mile of their “marathon”. They are looking forward to Spring 2010 once again!
