Healthy Living: Your 8-year-old can run a marathon

Every child should have the opportunity to experience the sense of pride that comes with physical accomplishment. While not every kid will excel at sports such as baseball, soccer or football, all able-bodied kids can run. And most love it.
As writer Christopher McDougal says, “We are born to run.” He describes running as “mankind’s first art, our original first act of inspired creation, … combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion.”
As adults, we often think of running as a long, unpleasant grind that goes on for at least 20 minutes. However, kids intuitively find the fun in running by doing it in short bursts (watch and learn, parents!). While their short jaunts might appear to have little value, when you start adding it up, they can actually accumulate to quite a significant distance.
Students at Brook Knoll Elementary School will attempt to run a marathon using this precise method. Over the course of eight weeks, third-, fourth- and fifth-graders will log miles on the track during recess with their friends and teachers.
“The Mileage Club is designed to help prevent obesity in children and adults, a 5th grade teacher at Brook Knoll said. “Good habits form early and when kids learn that being active can be fun and rewarding, it can carry on to adulthood. “
They will pool together, cheer each other on and individually strive to achieve an accrued distance of 5, 10, 15 or 20 miles, or even a marathon (26.2 miles). All the students will be recognized for their achievement with awards for the distances they complete.
Students who participate in a recess running program will benefit daily. They will be more positive and focused when they return to class, having gotten out all the wiggles and tapped into the after-effects of the feel-good hormone dopamine. They might also sleep better at night and feel more rested and ready to learn the following day.
By the end of eight weeks, these kids will have gained an understanding of how a great thing can be accomplished by chipping away at it a little bit each day. They will build relationships and camaraderie with their classmates through working together toward a common goal. Perhaps most importantly, they will glow with the sense of confidence that comes from physical achievement.
You might be surprised to hear such words as, “I am an athlete — I am a runner,” paired with a broad, self-satisfied smile, from the least likely suspect.
Kids who experience the joy of physical activity early in life are more likely to stay active through their teen years and into adulthood. Teens will continue to thrive off the social, academic and internal benefits of being physically active. As active kids grow into active adults, they will tend to have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, higher bone density and decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes than their sedentary counterparts.
If you want to start a recess running program in your child’s school and positively influence the lives of numerous children, simply connect with the Mileage Club program at www.fitnessfinders.net by clicking on Mileage Club. You will find a complete plan for how to implement the program at your school, along with supportive tools and associated learning opportunities.
Give your child the chance to experience how invigorating it is to simply run.
Julia Blanton is a nutrition, fitness and wellness coach. An avid runner, she works at Club One in Scotts Valley and keeps a health blog at www.juliablanton.com.