UH to Host Houston Marathon Kids Opening Event

October 9, 2009

On Saturday, Oct. 10, thousands of registered Houston Marathon Kids will gather at the University of Houston Tellez Track and Field for a “ceremonial” kick-off celebration of the six-month project:  Houston Marathon Kids®. The free event starts at 10 a.m.

For the fifth year, Houston-area K-5 students will run and walk 26.2 miles over six months as part of the Houston Marathon Kids program and its curriculum. The children will join with their parents after school and/or run at school with their physical educator and/or classroom teacher. Additionally, Houston Marathon Kids will eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables for 26.2 days a month to fuel their six-month school and community-based marathon. This year, 21,000 students are participating in the local program.

School districts invited to participate in the free program are Houston, Spring Branch, Fort Bend, Clear Creek, Galveston, North Forest, Goose Creek, Hitchcock, and private schools and home-schoolers.

The program is presented in the Houston area by Whole Foods Market, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and other sponsors and foundations.

Birthed as a grassroots initiative, the program is now in Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Rio Grande Valley,  Baltimore and Chicago with nearly 180,000 registered K-5 students.  

Staff reports