Wednesday, October 20, 2010 5:30 p.m.
What a great morning it was at Durbin Creek Elementary school in St.Johns, Florida just off Race Track Road. Those kids were off to the races! I got to witness an incredible display of over 200 kindergarteners and first graders who ran just over 2 miles in sunny beautiful weather with just a few altocumulus clouds. The big story was that the Boosterthon Fun Run raised $41,300 dollars. This is what the actual profit was for the school and it was a team effort between the teachers, parents, and the kids.
You can find out more information on the great organization that helped organize this at http://funrun.com. Many parents donated about a dollar per mile and by time the approximately 1,000 kids ran those 35 laps the school raised the most money in the entire state of Florida. Now that is support! This is the same public school that had the number one ranking in education in all of Florida. GO DURBIN CREEK!
You see Ana McCann cheering on her first grader with a loud cheering voice and sign! Ana not only thanked me for the weather but understood how important this was for the kids to learn life skills and build character through this great program. This year's theme was Leadership LAUNCH. The L stands for learning, A-active, U-uplifting, N-no bullying, C-courageous, and H-helpers. I was very impressed by the huge contingent of parents and volunteers. You can even see in the pictures above that the kids stayed plenty hydrated with a nice water stop in that warm Florida sun.
I have run 8 marathons and was truly in awe and how receptive all the kids were to running and how good of a time they were having. I wish I had something like this when I was in elementary school back in Maryland. I may not have waited until I was 35 years old to start running! To be able to teach them how much fun exercise can be at this early age is invaluable. I am not sure where I would be without running my 20 to 25 miles a week which ramps up to about 40 miles a week while training for half and full marathons. Those kids were amazing and the atmosphere incredible. I saw a lot of future marathoners and leaders out there. Yes, I loved taking a victory lap with my 6 year old daughter Lauren you can see above.
The weather could not have been better! Speaking of weather I have an update coming your way this evening that will include not just rain, but thunderstorms back in the long-range forecast! Finally! Yes, our future is bright thanks to the kids above and we can finally see the light at the end of this dry, dry tunnel for Northeast Florida by next week.
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