Running club keeps kids fit, alert

KEARNEY, Neb. — People cheered as the children, some wearing winter coats and gloves, scampered past, the Huskers’ tunnel walk song playing from a small stereo.

“Woo hoo, one mile!” a parent screamed.

As students from Meadowlark Elementary School ran the last laps for their running club, Principal Mark Stute joined them to show his support for the program.

“It’s been amazing,” Stute said. “Kids are more on-task. They’re usually drowsy in the morning. But with the kids that ran, we saw significantly more alertness.”

A study by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education found that the physical well-being of students has an effect on their ability to succeed academically.

Students began the program in July, running every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, weather permitting.

The byword of the running club, which had 127 participants, was “Meadowood,” a combination of “Meadowlark” and “Hollywood.” The students set a goal of running a total of 1,379 miles, the distance from Kearney to the Pacific Ocean.

After the students reached that goal, they began trying to run 1,777 miles — the distance to Hollywood, Fla.

Parents tracked the students’ progress on a map in a school hallway and made a bulletin board where photos of running students were displayed.

Eighty-five students ran enough miles to equal a half marathon — 13.1 miles — and 33 students finished a full marathon: 26.2 miles.

“We thought it would be good to promote fitness and allow students to set goals,” said Kristi Svec, an organizer and a parent of Meadowlark students. “They challenge themselves.”

Svec said the students have encouraged one another and haven’t been competitive. “It’s a self-competition.”

Svec and Jen McBride, also a parent of Meadowlark students, created the program. The parent volunteers applied for and received a grant to fund it. Stute said other parents volunteered during the runs, and between 10 and 15 parents ran or walked with their children.

Most running days, the University of Nebraska at Kearney volleyball team showed up to cheer on the students.

“They (students) loved them. They thought the volleyball players were cool,” Svec said.

Stute ran three miles with the students Monday morning.

“It shows that I’m vested in what they’re doing,” he said.