The Kaiser Permanente Youth Fitness Program began in 1988 in honor of Kenny King, at the time Sacramento's oldest runner, when he passed away in 1988 at the age of 77 while doing what he loved best: running. Inspired by Kenny's love of sports, the Sacramento Long Distance Running Association began the Kaiser PermanenteYouth Fitness Program in area elementary schools.

The program's primary purpose is to introduce our young people to the sport of running in a low-pressure but structured environment. The eight week program trains our youngest athletes to finish Kaiser Permanente 2.62-mile MaraFunRun. If the youth complete the entire eight week program, they will have run a total distance equal to a marathon-26.2 miles. The 2.62-Mile maraFUNrun held on marathon day is the finale of this running program. If the youths follow the program, they will have completed a total of 26.2 miles. Each youth who finishes the entire program will be mailed a marathon finisher's medal after the completed running log has been mailed to the office address below. Since 1990, more than 30,000 kids have participated in the program and the number of participating schools, organizations, families and individuals increases each year.

If you know an elementary school, a children's group, or a family who might be interested in this program, please have them view the information posted on this site on the Youth Fitness page or they may contact the Sacramento Long Distance Running Association, P.O. Box 161149, Sacramento, CA 95816, or call 916-983-4622.