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Any child who completes the Kaiser Permanente Youth Fitness Program and 2.62-Mile maraFUNrun
will receive a beautiful California International Marathon finisher’s medallion.
This medallion and the final 26.2-mile ribbon will be mailed following the maraFUNrun.

Tips for Setting Up Your Program An effective motivator is to relate the total miles run by your entire group to a defined distance, such as across California or the U.S. Use a big map to mark the progress of their chosen route. Send a copy of the mileage log to the CIM office as soon as the participants achieve their marks, rather than waiting to send them in all at once. The certificates are excellent incentives to motivate the children to stay with the program. Try to promote completion of the training program by the entire class or group. Emphasis should be on participation and having fun, NOT on speed or on winning each run. We want to make this experience a positive experience to encourage a lifetime enjoyment of fitness activities for all our youth. If your participants wish to continue a running program in cross country or track, contact the CIM office for information about Junior Olympic programs available to youth of all ages. Upon your request we will send you an excellent youth running pamphlet, "Children’s Running: A Guide for Teachers and Coaches." This booklet, published by the Road Runners Club of America, contains sound advice and additional motivational activities.

Important Training Guidelines It is important to ease into a running workout by first doing some light warm-up exercises and gentle stretching. Be sure water is available during the sessions. A minimum of two training sessions per week is recommended. Try to do at least one session per week with the entire group. Do additional "off campus" sessions as necessary with a family member. The instructor, whenever possible, should run with the children. To promote self esteem, completion of a specific distance is much more important than the speed of the run. Walking is OK if necessary. The pace of the run should be at a "talking" pace (the youths should be able to carry on a conversation while running). Always have the youths run with a partner or in a group. NEVER USE RUNNING AS A PUNISHMENT!

Kaiser Permanente Youth Fitness Program Training Schedule
For Grades 1 - 3, consider cutting the distances in half.

Updated 1/11/2010