I Run Kids Marathon Update #3

Can you believe it? We are only a couple days away from the Final Mile of the 4th annual I Run Kids Marathon. Where did the summer go? I think it melted away it was so hot. If you have a few last minute miles to get in, now is the time. Need to get in that last book of the summer, time is now!

We have been so busy the last couple weeks getting everything prepared for the Final Mile which takes place this Saturday evening starting at 6:00PM at Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Raabe Stadium. The shirts have arrived and are now nicely rolled for ease of distribution. I picked up the Finishers Medals today, they look great! We have the Chocolate and White Milk on order from Kwik Trip as well as the bananas. I do not know about the cookies yet, but no worries, if they don’t come, I will buy some. Pure water will be available from Century Springs again this year too.

And lots of prizes to give away after the mile again this year. The Green Bay Packers donated some cool stuff. Gift Certificates for Nike, Performance Running Outfitters, and Athletes Foot in New Berlin. Athletes Foot even donated some backpacks too! The Pettit National Ice Center donated some Skating/Running Passes and Sherwood Pictures donated 3 DVD’s of the movie “Facing the Giants”, one of my favorite movies I might add. We also have water bottles and some books to give away too. I hope we are not there all night giving stuff away. And the bananas are back!!!

Timeline

Please make sure you plan to arrive by 6:30PM as there may be a line at Packet Pickup. I know there was a bad situation last year on this but we feel we have solved this issue (in other words, I longer have anything to do with it). Here is a rough timeline of the events at the Final Mile. These times are only approximate.

6:00PM - Packet Pickup Starts
6:00PM until the end – Music plays
6:40PM – Warm up with leader Laurie Staerkel from Innovative Health and Fitness in Franklin
6:55PM – National Anthem
7:00PM – Race #1 begins for kids grades 4 and under
7:15PM – Race #2 begins for kids grades 5 and up
7:30PM – Charity Mile for Family and Friends, all proceeds go directly to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
7:50PM – Awards and Prizes

Directions

Directions to the Final Mile can be found on the website. Please review as it is a little tricky finding the stadium. Please enter off of Watertown Plank Rd. Look for signs at the entrance.

Adults and Older Teens Mile (The Charity Mile)

New this year, we will be having a 1 mile fun run/walk for older teens and adults. Kids, get your parents, grandparents, neighbors, anyone who has encourages and given you support during you marathon to run their own 1 mile race. If you can do and entire 26.2 miles, they can do 1 mile, right? We will have this 1 mile fun run/walk immediately after the last kids final mile. It will be $10 to enter with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. While there will be no shirt for the adults (unless they are a volunteer), there will be medals awarded to the top 3 male and female finishers. Everyone will get the satisfaction of giving the kids who need help.

Volunteers

I would like to thank all of you that have volunteered already. We can’t put this event on without the help of so many kind people giving their time and talents. Be sure to thank those at the Final Mile in the Bright Green Volunteer Shirts.

I do still need a couple more volunteers and have a great shirt for you if you do. My photographer suddenly got celled away yesterday and will not be able to attend. If you are an amateur (or professional) photographer and would like to take a ton of pictures, we would love to have you. Please email me if you are interested. I do have a “rabbit” to lead the runners out but still need a “turtle” to make sure everyone safely finishes. Please let me know if you are able to do this, you can ride your bike if you choose.

When the Final Mile is over, please take a minute to clean up any trash you see. Wisconsin Lutheran College has been very generous in donating the use of their facility, let’s leave it cleaner than when we arrived.

Sponsors

I would like to thank all of our sponsors who help make this event possible by donating cash, prizes, talents, or use of equipment. Please support these companies whenever possible:

Wisconsin Lutheran College
Sky High Marketing
Mike Evans Design
Kwik Trip Stores
Performance Running Outfitters
Spiegelberg Financial Services
The Athlete’s Foot New Berlin
La Campagne Bakery
Nike
Chris Ponteri at Long Run Athletics
Sherwood Pictures
Green Bay Packers

Thank You

I would like to thank all of you for joining the 2012 I Run Kids Marathon. It is truly a rewarding feeling I get to see all the kids achieve their goals of completing a full marathon over the summer. I certainly hope everyone has the same feelings I have not only at the Final Mile, but throughout the summer program. You will see me, as with every year, at the finish line giving high fives to all the kids as the finish their marathon. Come say hi to me and introduce yourself. And as always, I encourage you to give me your feedback on the program. We know it is not a perfect program, but we are all donating tons of our time to make it the best that we can. Suggestions are welcome.

Bill Schneider
I Run Kids Marathon Director

2012 I Run Kids Marathon Update #2

Are you watching the Olympics? I sure am! I love the Olympics and watch tons of sports I don’t watch but once in 4 years. One of the greatest events in the Olympics is the Marathon. The Olympics originated in Greece and so did the marathon. The Women’s Olympic marathon will take place this coming Sunday and running for the United States will be Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, and Desiree Davila (maybe pulling out). All 3 are outstanding marathon runners and each has a chance for a medal. If you care to watch the race Live, it will be broadcast Sunday at 5:00AM

The Men’s Olympic Marathon will be run next Sunday and broadcast at the same time. Running for the United States will be Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, and Abdi Abdirahman. Meb was the Silver Medalist from 8 years ago in Athens. Should be a great race to watch.

And all you kids marathoners can be proud to know you are running the EXACT same distance, 26.2 miles! You should be proud of your accomplishment and I hope to see big smiles on you as you cross the finish line on the 25th. They don’t have to read like you guys are, but I can bet they do a lot of reading anyways.

Prizes

We are still looking for more prizes to give away to the kids after the final mile. If you or your company would like to donate some prizes, please contact me at kidsmarathon@yahoo.com. We will make sure you are recognized for your generosity. Kids, make sure you attend the final mile. You must attend to be eligible for a door prize. We have already received gifts from Nike, The Pettit Center, as well as the Green Bay Packers.

Adults and Older Teens Mile

New this year, we will be having a 1 mile fun run/walk for older teens and adults. Kids, get your parents, grandparents, neighbors, anyone who has encourages and given you support during you marathon to run their own 1 mile race. If you can do and entire 26.2 miles, they can do 1 mile, right? We will have this 1 mile fun run/walk immediately after the last kids final mile. It will be $10 to enter with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. While there will be no shirt for the adults (unless they are a volunteer), there will be medals awarded to the top 3 male and female finishers. Everyone will get the satisfaction of giving the kids who need help.

Sponsors

We are so thankful for all the sponsors who make this event possible. Please support these sponsors like they support us. On the website, you can see all our sponsors logos and links to their websites. Thank you to Wisconsin Lutheran College, SkyHigh Marketing, Mike Evens Design, Kwik Trip, Performance Running Outfitters, Spiegelberg Financial Services, DuPont Cheese in Marion, WI, The Athlete’s Foot in New Berlin, Nike, The Pettit Center, and La Campagne Bakery.

Directions

Directions to the Final Mile can be found on the I Run Kids Marathon website. Please follow this link to see directions to the Final Mile.

Volunteers

We will need volunteers for the Final Mile as well. If you are interested in volunteering at the Final Mile, please email us at kidsmarathon@yahoo.com. We need help with course safety, set up, food preparation, and clean up. All volunteers will receive an I Run Kids Marathon shirt for their help and still be able to still see their kids run as well as have time to run the Adults and Older Teens Mile.

Thank you

Thank you for your participation in the 2012 I Run Kids Marathon. If you have any questions, please refer to the I Run Kids Marathon website or email us at kidsmarathon@yahoo.com. Go out and run a mile!