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With television and potato chips competing against exercise and carrot sticks, it's no wonder children's waistlines are thickening. Members of the Nimitz Elementary School Running Club are fighting back--one mile at a time.
"It's our culture," says Tracy Burriss, a Nimitz parent and running club volunteer. "Kids sit in front of the television or video games. They need to be more active. This is something that can introduce students to a lifelong habit of running."
Concerned that students weren't getting enough exercise, parents and kindergarten teacher Bruce Horn organized the club in January. Students who wish to participate can walk or run laps around the playing field during their lunch period. Children get cards, which volunteers mark for each lap they complete. Once they run enough laps to fill a card--a distance of about 5 miles--students receive a ribbon and a mention in the school newsletter.
The thrill of earning a ribbon can only take runners so far, Burriss says.
"The motivation of a ribbon wears off," Burriss says. "The kids want to do it for themselves."
Two weeks ago, students collectively logged 4,500 miles. Burriss estimates that about 70 percent of the student population has participated in the club at least once.
"I was surprised it was so well received," says parent volunteer Julie Colwell. "I remember hating to run laps. These kids picked it right up."
Second-grader Danielle Aharanov has discovered the pleasure of running. She says she didn't really enjoy running before she joined the club but has since reaped the benefits of exercise.
"It gives you energy," Danielle says. "You get less weight and you get exercise."
Third-grader Sharon Peretz enjoys the release she gets from pounding the pavement.
"If you are mad, you get to feel better," she says. "Running relaxes you."
Other students like the social aspect of running with the club. First-graders Amit Bensimhon and Jake Burriss have bonded over their passion for running. Their friendship has covered quite a distance--Jake 45 miles and Amit 55 miles, the most of any student at the school.
Colwell says the club allows Nimitz's diverse student body to participate in an activity together despite language and cultural differences. Since she began volunteering with the club, she has learned to say "run" in Mandarin, Japanese and Urdu.
Buriss says, "[Language barriers] can deter parental involvement."
The club provides a way for parents who speak minimal English to participate in the school community.
"You don't have to speak English to punch cards," she says.
And parents enjoy watching their children run.
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Photograph by Sean Penello