Helping Engage Kids in Running

In the spring on Notre Dame’s campus, you can’t miss the frequent running races for charity put on by dorms, ROTC groups, and academic departments. Every weekend there is at least one event and all of them donate proceeds to charity organizations. At Notre Dame, where 80% of undergraduates were varsity letter-winners in high school, these events are a golden opportunity to exercise and donate to a worthy cause (plus get a free t-shirt and food). Similar events have become more common off of college campuses as well. Websites such as active.com have searchable lists based on zip code, date, distance, and other factors. Events cater to avid runners as well as beginners. Most of the events offer both a 5kilometer or 10kilometer (etc) running race paired with a 1mile “fun walk.” In my hometown, Hutchinson, KS, the inaugural Run for the Rocks half marathon is taking place this coming weekend. In an interview with one of the coordinators Amy Conkling last spring, she told me that 10k and half-marathon distances are becoming increasingly popular for adult runners at many levels. These distances provide a challenge that leaves runners feeling accomplished but at the same time offer an achievable goal. One of the biggest events of the spring at Notre Dame is the Holy Half marathon which is going on its eighth year. The National Alliance for Youth Sports has developed a program to get kids involved in this individual and rewarding activity through their “Ready, Set, Run!” program (www.nays.org). The program teams up with local recreation commissions (or similar) to teach kids ages 8-13 the basics of training for a 5k run event. The program “equips kids with the physical training and goal-setting mentality needed to accomplish their running goals.” Techniques that are useful in any form of sport. Kids learn how to set and achieve personal goals and lead their own sport performance. The program piloted in the spring of 2011 and helped kids approach and accomplish an athletic goal while having fun in a sport that can become a lifelong passion. Becca Page Social Foundations of Coaching Notre Dame Undergraduate Class