Blackfoot running club teaches kids vital skills
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BLACKFOOT – A free Blackfoot running club is helping kids become healthier while teaching them vital life skills.
The Mini Mermaid Running Club and the Young Triton Running Club are composed of Stoddard Elementary first through fifth graders.
“The purpose of the running club is self-development. We also include things like nutrition, self-esteem and empathy,” coach Josie Dye told EastIdahoNews.com.
Dye and other coaches focus on helping kids with their self-confidence and preparing for a bright future.
“When they try to run that first lap during the very first practice, it’s tough,” Dye said. “By the end of practice they have so much more confident in their own abilities.”
The running club started last year and had only 10 girls. This year the club has grown to 35 and now has a boy’s team.
Ten-year-old Anna Weiland has been a part of the running club for a year and said she’s learned to mentally endure physical exertion.
“It (is) really hard, but we try to push ourselves to keep on running,” Anna said.
Dye said this year the groups are focusing on nutrition and eating disorders. She hopes teaching the kids proper nutrition will help prevent future issues.
“We are teaching them it’s OK to have sweets and sugars and things like that — you just have to have it in moderation,” Dye said.
Coaches also teach the kids proper running techniques.
“We teach them the breathing techniques and endurance because 3.12 miles for a kid is actually a big distance to run,” Dye said.
Summer Nimmons, the mother of a child in the program, said this is just what Blackfoot needs. She’s looking forward to running with her daughter and seeing her third-grader’s progress.
“I just enjoy watching her grow her self-esteem amongst her peers and I hope too that she can be a great example for her peers,” Nimmons said.
Nimmons said getting kids involved in extracurricular activities at an early age teaches them how to deal with adversity.
“This type of a program is going to unhinge issues that are currently closeted,” Nimmons said.
The running club trains twice a week for six weeks and at the end of training the kids run a 5K. The club hosts the 5K event and the community is welcome to attend and support the young runners.
The free running club currently welcomes Stoddard Elementary students, but is open to any elementary school as long as coaches from those schools are available.
For more information, email coach Josie Dye at jedye6@gmail.com.