Written by Leslie Fajardo
APS Communication Team Intern
This year, third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Yale Elementary School committed to run a half mile to a mile at a time with the Yale Running Club Team or on their own to accumulate 25.2 miles. Students began training with teachers Gina Gauser and Jessica Olson in September to be able to participate in the Kids Running America final mile on Oct. 27 at Washington Park.
Students wanted to commit to the race for personal satisfaction, and others had run a marathon before and realized how rewarding it felt to cross the finish line and earn a medal. Some of the runners on the team really stepped up and demonstrated leadership roles as well as challenged each in practice.
“The biggest challenge my students and I faced was time,” Gauser said. “We had two days a week as a designated Running Club day, which meant that students would need to be responsible and motivated to run on their own some of the time to accomplish their 25.2 miles before the final mile.”
Kids Running America is an organization that puts events together that focus on the physical movement aspect. Their motto is “Running down childhood obesity!”
