Today was the first day I met the kids from Tech high school that I will be training for the 2011 Mini Marathon.
This is a plan that has been in the works for a year now. We have a team of 26 kids from Tech, 8 Seniors from my center and 8 teachers and community residents who are part of this team. The kids on the team are kids who want make a healthy lifestyle change. Teachers chose the kids based on the circumstance that they would benefit from joining a team like Team Legacy. (Who wouldn’t benefit though really?)
I started running in high school when I was 15 and it had permanent positive impact on my life. I can only hope this team will do that to at least one of the kids. Today when we were going over the basics and introducing the program to the kids I couldn’t help but wonder where this program was going to lead these kids. Sometimes at work I shut down and get a little cold to my seniors. The social work aspect of my job wears on me and I feel the need for space and in order to get that, I close myself off. At this meeting I decided I needed to make a decision to build relationships with these kids and also try to improve the relationships I have with my seniors.
We start practice next Thursday. The seniors are not completing the 13.1 miles, they are walking in the 5K which is the same day. I did the 13.1 with 5 of my seniors in 09 and let’s just say it was a little too much… they did it, but we’ve decided there is nothing wrong with a 75 year old walking 3.1 miles rather than 13.1. It is going to be a really cool experience for the seniors and the kids though, because they will be working together. When they kids have really long training walks, the seniors are going to set up at a mile marker and pass out water and nutrition if needed.
I have a separate blog that is specifically for the Legacy mini marathon team. I will be posting stories we encounter along the way, pictures and videos. If you are interested in checking it out, follow us at:
Hmmm…. for some reason I can’t get the link to work…. but it’s at legacyminimarathonteamblogspot.com 