Little runners take part in the Healthy Kids Running Series at Blue Heron Park in Franklin in October 2021. The series, designed for children ages 2 to 14 to encourage fitness and exercise, is starting again in September.
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This fall, kids from all over the county will take their marks, get set and go as fast as their feet will go.
Organizers of the Healthy Kids Running Series hope to get kids pumping their legs and sprinting for the finish line, regardless of their athletic experience or running prowess.
From a simple start, a love of exercise can grow, said Sara Copp, community coordinator of the Franklin racing series.
“With my own kids, I don’t ever want them to get older and just loathe having to run the mile in gym class. When you can get kids started in fitness young, and have it be a fun thing that they enjoy doing, where they see themselves push through those barriers, then they never hate activity,” she said.
The third session of the Healthy Kids Running Series fires off the starting line on Sunday, offering youths ages 2 to 14 a chance to participate in foot races against kids their own age. Depending on age, they’ll run anywhere from 50 yards to 1 mile.
“They have an opportunity to learn about their own skill at running. You don’t have to be ‘good’ at running — anyone can run,” Copp said. “It’s up to their own abilities.”
The Healthy Kids Running Series is a nationwide program that aims to motivate kids to lead a healthy and active lifestyle through a positive introduction to the world of running.
Formed in 2009, the organization was founded to combat increasing rates of childhood obesity in America while building self-esteem.
Healthy Kids races can be found in 41 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Switzerland.
In Indiana, clubs have been formed in Lawrenceburg and Fort Wayne.
Copp was part of the Healthy Kids Racing Series when they lived in Florida, the District of Columbia and Kansas. Hers is a military family — her husband is active-duty U.S. Army, and she is an Army veteran. So they’ve had to move eight times in 10 years.
“Every place we had lived, except for Indiana, had a Healthy Kids Running Series. So my children had been able to do it in a bunch of different places,” Copp said.
When the family moved to Franklin in 2021, they sought programs to get involved with in the community. Copp’s son, who was 3 years old at the time, couldn’t find anything he liked. Copp did some research and found that she could open a race locally.
“I had confidence I could make it work, it was just a matter of getting the local community to buy into it,” she said. “We saw a need, and created an opportunity.”
One of the best aspects of the program is that it caters to children of all abilities, Copp said.
“We could do wheelchair events, we could do events for kids who maybe can’t really run. Those are all things we could do to help build confidence and get them moving their bodies,” she said.
The initial Franklin version of the Healthy Kids Racing Series kicked off in September of 2021, and 45 children took part. The series had an equally successful turnout earlier this year in the spring.
The racing series consists of five events held on Sundays starting on Sept. 11 and ending Oct. 16. People can sign for all sessions, or can walk up to Blue Heron Park on race day and sign-up then and there, Copp said.
Everyone warms up together, and then the running starts. The one-mile run — which includes kids in grades four to eight — is first. Then the shorter runs follow: 50-yard dash for kids ages 2 and 3, 75-yard dash for 4- and 5-year-olds, quarter-mile for kindergartners and first-graders, and a half-mile for second- and third-graders.
“We do it that way because if you’ve ever run a mile, it’s really lonely if you get back and everyone is already done. So we have them go first so when they come in, there’s a huge crowd of people,” Copp said. “Then as the kids finish their races, they can stay and cheer their peers on, or they can head out.”
