On Sunday, October 6 forty children ranging from the ages of 4 to 14 gathered at Freedom Park in Lagrange, New York to run their respective races.
This event was a part of the Healthy Kids Running Series. This series was created by Jeff Long, the founder and president of Pattison Sports Group. It’s purpose is to use running to motivate kids to lead a healthy, active lifestyle. It is a national organization with 242 cities/towns that host their races.
This year marks 10 years since Healthy Kids was created but it is only the first year that a program has been implemented in Dutchess County. The series has two seasons, the spring and the fall. The running series in Dutchess is in its second season.
This race marked the fourth week of the five week series for the Fall season. At the event, there were four running events. Consisting of the 75 yard dash for 4 and 5 year olds, the quarter mile for 6 and 7 year olds, the half mile for 8 and 9 year olds, and the mile for 10 to 14 year olds.
Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, the creator and sole coordinator for Healthy Kids Running Series in Dutchess County, said the inspiration to implement this program came as an afterthought based on her experiences with her own children. As an avid runner Fitzpatrick said, when her children were young, they wanted to attend her races with her. “But when my kids were really small like four or five years old, it wasn’t feasible for them to really run a 1 mile run,” said Fitzpatrick.
The age appropriate distances is what drew her to Healthy Kids Running Series. She believes that each distance is challenging and achievable for each child and likes the fact that kindergartens are not running the same distance as an eighth grader.
Healthy Kids Running Series teaches children to love running and keeps them active.
“I think it has given him a goal, something to strive for. It also helps him to keep his competitive nature,” said Mary McLiverty, mother of a 4 year old participant. “We come here at the start and stay all the way to the finish. It is teaching him to support other runners and to keep an active lifestyle.”
Additionally, this five week program allows the participants to monitor their progress, which is especially important to the older kids.
“Running is a way to encourage additional activity, a lot of kids here play other sports. So, this is a way for them to improve in their other sports such as soccer and baseball,” said Fitzpatrick. “The running helps to keep them active for another day of the week.”
Fitzpatrick said that the biggest payback for all of her hard work is “seeing all of the families out and seeing all of the kids running and having a good time, instead of being stuck at home and not doing anything.”
