Author: Stephanie Ferro, Graduate Student Worker, County of San Diego, Health & Human Services Agency

How do you get two kindergarteners to run over 100 miles before the school year ends? Well, Move Your Feet Before You Eat Foundation has the answer! The Foundation, an official Live Well San Diego Recognized Partner since April 5, 2017, empowers children to have an active and healthy lifestyle by incorporating physical fitness activities into their daily lives.

The Foundation currently partners with five schools in the Oceanside Unified School District and Temple Heights Elementary, which is in the Vista Unified School District. Both school districts have implemented new physical activity programs including Fitness Field Days and Running Programs. The Running Programs uses the Student Lap Tracker System, which keeps track of the laps that each student runs. After every lap, students scan their running card through a hand-held data collection device. All the data is then uploaded into a computer to generate student reports by age, gender, grade or student.

“We set a goal this year to reach 14,000 miles,” shared Robert Cross, a teacher at Temple Heights Elementary and the Running Program’s lead. “All the kids had to make their own goal on how they would do that and we are now at over 19,000 miles!”

Several students at the school have already run over 100 miles this school year, including two kindergarteners. 

“The kids would ask, ‘Where’s the Running Club?’ because they would expect every morning to run their little hearts out,” said Jerica Taumoepeau, a mom who aided with the implementation of the Running Program at Temple Heights.  “It was part of their lifestyle, and that really was amazing.”

For more information about Move Your Feet’s running club program, please visit: https://moveyourfeetfoundation.org