RUNNERS AWARDED AT KIMBERLY ELEMENTARY Mileage Club Counting Laps Kids like to keep track. They have fun recording healthy snacks, time exercised, and they love to count laps. Patty Peoples tells about her school mileage club where accumulating laps is the goal. If you are thinking about starting a running club and you need something simple that works, then a lap program is the way to go. REDLANDS, CA -- Over half the student body (328) at Kimberly Elementary School participated in the optional running club this past spring. The breakdown of students involved, according to grades were as followed: Kindergarten, 9; First grade, 69; Second grade, 57; Third grade, 52; Fourth grade, 57; Fifth grade, 76; and County, 8. 28 students were awarded a "Runners Trophy" at the schoolıs final awards ceremony on the last day of school. Fifth-grader, Connor ran 154 laps, the most of any boy and second-grader, Holly ran 120 laps, the most of any girl. Six laps around the designated course is one mile. The club meets twice a week before school starts, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 ­ 7:45 am for 10 weeks in the fall and spring. Any student is welcome to join. They just show up, fill out a card and start running. For each lap they run, walk or job, they get their card punched. The cards are filed by grade and then tallied at the end of the 10 weeks. Students can earn bonus laps when they participate in a designated "running club" event such as the "Run Through Redlands" and "Relay for Life". "Running helps build the kids confidence, self-esteem and to be more attentive in class," commented Patty Peoples, a parent who helps teachers Theresa Olivo and Scott Parker, with the program. "I would like to see a running program in each school," Peoples added. "With all the budget cuts lately, it's one of the most affordable programs available to the schools since itıs run by teaches and parents who donate their time." Contact: Patty Peoples Running Club Parent Volunteer Phone: 792-3305 phantomracer@cs.com rwedit@rodale.com.