DOCTORS NOVA SCOTIA Youth Run for Fun Program Fun Run Jan. 21, 2008 Update: Last year, we had over 9,000 kids from 150 schools around the province. This year we expect to surpass the 10,000 mark! The Nova Scotia Dept. of Health Promotion and Protection and the Royal Bank of Canada join on as sponsors this year to share in funding this free program. Doctors Nova Scotia is the professional association for all physicians in the province. Membership is required to practice medicine. The Youth Running for Fun Program is funded largely by the membership. The association takes a lead in Canada for its commitment to health promotion and recently received the 2006 Health Promotion and Innovation Award of Excellence from the Canadian Institute of Child Health for the running program. The running program is offered at no cost to schools of all levels in the province. The majority of the participating schools are at the elementary level, with fewer at the junior high level and the odd one at the high school level. In our first year we had over 3,500 participants from 58 schools and last year we had over 6,500 kids from 108 schools. This is the third year for the program and our hope is to exceed 8,000 participants from 130 schools. You can find out more on our website doctorsns.com. We find that the give-aways (handbooks, water bottles and certificates) work well to recruit and motivate participants. The program was designed to be fun for all participants, regardless of their fitness level and also easy for teachers to implement. A coach's handbook is provided which contains all the info needed to implement the program. Participants start off with a distance of 2 kilometres and slowly build to a final distance of 4.2. Because the fitness levels vary so much, participants are encouraged to do as much running as possible and incorporate brisk walking breaks when required. As you can imagine, there are some participants who walk a great deal of the time and there are others who can run 4.2 kms without walking on their first day. School groups range in size from 5-130 kids and most schools involve parent volunteers to help motivate and ensure safety. We have also had a few small elementary schools implement the program with all their students and staff during curriculum time. Many of the participants in the program use a virtual marathon training program to prepare for a 4.2 km fun run at the end of the program. The most popular event in the province is the youth run sponsored by Doctors Nova Scotia at the Blue Nose International Marathon in May. Participation numbers in that event have ballooned from 535, to 1,700, to 2,270 last year and possibly 3,000 this year. It is an amazing event that leaves spectators with goose-bumps. EMAIL rwedit@rodale.com KIDSRUNNING.COM PRIVACY POLICY