Each summer Fairbanks Golden Heart Rotary Club hosts a free running club for kids aged seven to 12. The running club is led by head coach Susan Kramer.
Each summer Fairbanks Golden Heart Rotary Club hosts a free running club for kids aged seven to 12. The running club is led by head coach Susan Kramer. Other members of Golden Heart Rotary volunteer their time each week to assist.
Golden Heart Running Club meets throughout the summer on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Birch Hill Recreation Area where they stretch, do relays, run laps and perform other training exercises, like swatting mosquitoes.
Rotarians keep track of how far the kids run by handing out popsicle sticks each time they finish a lap. Each popsicle stick represents a certain distance. The kids hand in their popsicle sticks at the end of each practice and the distance is tallied. At the end of the summer the total distance is tallied, and those who completed enough practices earn a t-shirt displaying the number of miles they ran over the course of the summer. This is a MUCH anticipated reveal! The kids can’t wait to see their total and proudly show the crowd when they are handed their t-shirt.
This year 59 kids sign up for Golden Heart Running Club. To earn a shirt, they needed to come to a minimum of 10 of 16 practices. Four kids had perfect attendance. Thirty-five kids earned a t-shirt! The kids with the most miles in their age group received a special award.
Most miles boys 7-9 – Griffin Herrick with 24 miles (also perfect attendance)
Most miles girls 7-9 – Ruby Graff with 17.6 miles
Most miles girls 7-9 – Ruby Graff with 17.6 miles
Most miles boys 10-12 – Miles Poe with 28.4 miles
Most miles girls 10-12 – Lorelei Alexander with 23.7 miles (also perfect attendance)
Most miles girls 10-12 – Lorelei Alexander with 23.7 miles (also perfect attendance)
Check out the photo album for more photos or check out the Fairbanks Golden Heart Rotary Facebook page: