Kids of STEEL marathon introduces training program for kids

Kids of STEEL marathon introduces training program for kids

Kids of STEEL challenges kids to get healthy by trying new fruits and vegetables every week and by running a marathon – over 18 weeks. It will culminate in the one-mile kids’ marathon on May 3 this year, the day before the annual Pittsburgh Marathon.

Partnerships with 80 participating schools

Kelsey Jackson, public relations manager for the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, notes that both the marathon and Kids of STEEL have grown over the years. Now there are 80 schools participating; although no new schools are being accepted into the program at the moment, individual kids can still sign up.

Instilling healthy lifestyle habits

The goal of the program, says Katie Pavlich, the marathon’s event program director, “is to instill healthy lifestyle habits in every child. The miles kids have been turning in are amazing.”

Sponsored by Giant Eagle, Kids of STEEL now involves more than 2,000 students, with four school districts topping the list of registered students: Ross Elementary, North Strabane Intermediate, Avonworth Elementary and South Fayette Elementary and Intermediate.

Kids of STEEL started with 15 schools just four years ago. “We’ve got a lot of kids coming back, and they are involving their siblings,” she says.

Writer: Marty Levine

Sources: Kelsey Jackson and Katie Pavlich, DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon