Loving through Running

As I sit here and work on the Coach's Manual for Ready, Set, Run! I keep coming back to the fact that we want to help kids love themselves more through running. I wanted to elaborate. One of the neatest things about running is that most of us are equipped to be “runners” as we are. There aren’t really any techniques we need to master, we don’t need to be an all-star athlete, there isn’t any expensive equipment we need to buy (yes, proper shoes are important...) Our bodies, as they are, have the capability of training to accomplish a goal. Farther than we often give ourselves credit for. This is the beauty of it.

I think that most people who have trained for a distance run (1k, 5k or a marathon) would say that at the beginning of the training, they never thought they'd be able to easily accomplish the end distance. I've seen it happen in my own training: first a 10k, then a half-marathon, then a full marathon. And I've seen it happen with friends- kids and adults alike. But as you follow your training regimen, stay disciplined in your efforts, you find yourself capable of achieving the end distance that seemed so impossible at the beginning. That power IS within each of us! It's such a beautiful realization that as a runner I truly wish everyone could (or wanted to!) experience.

And that’s what we want to show our kids. If they put their mind to accomplishing a goal, they CAN accomplish it. We may or may not attract the star athletes, but each runner in the program will be successful and learn about a strength that is within him or her.

It's Congress time!

This week NAYS hosts our annual Youth Sport Congress alongside the Athletic Business Expo. This year, we are in beautiful San Diego! My personal excitement comes with the official introduction and sneak peak into our Ready, Set, Run! Youth Running program. I hope you were able to attend, if not, please shoot me an email and I would love to share our brochure and (as always) any other details about the program with you. klake2@nays.org

Congress gives us the opportunity to plug in with our youth sport providers. It is such a fantastic time for encouragement- for us to be encouraged by all you are doing for kids and for you to be encouraged by our educational sessions, key-note addresses, awards and quality one-on-one time. http://nays.org/international_congress/

Proper nutrition

One thing Ready, Set, Run! addresses is proper nutrition for kids. The goal is for kids to learn about eating well AND give them the tools they need to make proper food decisions- recipes, thought process, etc. So cool when you hear about companies like Walgreen's who are helping to make the decision-making process even easier!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/magazine/14fob-consumed-t.html?_r=1

Name has been made OFFICIAL!

We have been referring to the program as our "youth running program" for far too long :) It's official, without further ado, we are proud to present:

READY, SET, RUN! Youth Running Program

Very excited to take this big step. Logo is in process...