About Students Go The Distance
How It Works
Student and Leader orientations are held in April to kick off the program. Program goals and expectations are reviewed at both and students and Leaders receive valuable information about conditioning, injury prevention, nutrition and the importance of physical fitness.
The Leader orientation also provides guidelines for implementing the training schedule designed by SGD staff, monitoring student training, ensuring that all students follow the rules and meet the expectations of the program, and coordinating program logistics. Most importantly, the orientation addresses the role Leaders play as mentors, providing the enthusiasm for students to take on this challenge!
SGD staff provide technical assistance to Leaders and provide all participants with equipment, transportation and running fees. Monthly check-in meetings are arranged between SGD staff and Leaders to address their ongoing needs.
Training begins in May and for approximately the first six weeks sessions take place three days a week with two weekday sessions and one weekend session. A fourth weekday session is added for the remainder of the program.
Weekday Trainings
- Start 30 minutes after the end of the school day.
- Students and Leaders meet at a designated area on campus or nearby campus and spend 15 minutes reviewing the route and running goals for that session, and performing warm up exercises.
- Students are divided into small groups to train, with Leaders providing constant adult supervision and support.
- Training consists of a 30-45 minute run and walk with the goal of decreasing the walk time and increasing the run time over the course of the seven months.
Weekend Trainings
- Typically occur on Saturdays.
- Consist of warm up exercises and “long runs” that build from three miles to over 20 miles as the marathon approaches, and last from one to two hours. SGD staff and Leaders chart the courses for all “long runs.”
Trainings are also a time for Leaders to reinforce the messages about conditioning, nutrition, physical fitness and overall health promotion.
Fun Runs and Half Marathon
Training sessions are supplemented with three or four short distance races or “fun runs” and one half marathon held throughout the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Participating in these shorter distance runs leading up to the marathon maintains motivation, keeps training varied and fun and familiarizes participants with organized races and local running opportunities. Races take place on weekends.
Medical Examination
All students and Leaders are required to take a medical exam before participating in training. Students have the following options to complete medical exams :
- School-based clinic may be available
- School Nurse’s Office may be able to perform medical exam
- Student’s personal physician
- Public Health – Seattle & King County provides a listing of nearby clinics that offer free or low-cost health exams for teenagers. Students can call
206-296-4600 or go to www.metrokc.gov/health/locations/index.htm
Students must provide proof of medical exam to their group Leader.
Transportation
SGD provides transportation for fun runs, half marathon, Seattle Marathon and weekend “long runs” if the course is not within walking distance of school. SGD staff will coordinate pick-up and drop-off times and locations with Leaders.
Costs
There is no fee to participate in SGD. All equipment, transportation and running fees are paid for by SGD through fundraising efforts.
Students demonstrate commitment to SGD by attending all training sessions and events during the first month of the program, completing a medical exam and submitting all required waiver forms and emergency release forms. Once students have met these criteria, SGD provides students with the following items:
- SGD t-shirt
- Entry fees and transportation to each SGD event
- One pair of running shoes, running socks, running bra, raincoat
Needs Addressed
SGD addresses key needs for young people.
- First and foremost, it gets them active! Long-distance running is a fun and challenging way to combat the current rise in overweight and obesity among children and teenagers.
“In the past 30 years, the percentage of children in the US who are overweight has more than doubled, and the number of teenagers who are overweight has nearly tripled.” (National Center for Health Statistics, 2004)
Inactivity is a major contributing factor. Free time among youth is increasingly devoted to media consumption. According to 2005 findings by the Kaiser Family Foundation, children in the U.S. spend an average of almost 6.5 hours each day consuming media. Furthermore, youth have fewer and fewer options to engage in organized physical activity. “Fewer than 10 percent of elementary, junior high, middle and high schools surveyed provided daily physical education or an equivalent, and fewer than half of all schools offered any out-of-school time intramural activities or physical activity clubs for students.” (National Centers for Disease Control, 2000)
In King County only three quarters of all youth engage in recommended levels of physical activity. (PHSKC, Health of King County 2006).
With the rise in overweight and obesity has come an increase in chronic disease among youth. King County physicians report diagnosing Type II diabetes, which has typically been associated with obesity in adults, among children with increasing frequency. (PHSKC, Health of King County 2006)
Recent local data also reveal higher rates of being overweight among youth who are African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander and Latino. (PHSKC, Health of King County 2006).
“The National Center for Disease Control predicts that one in three US children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime, and nearly half of African-American and Hispanic children are likely to develop the disease.” (National Center for Disease Control, 2003)
Overall, inactivity and its related health problems threaten the quality of life of our youth. Getting kids running offers a preventive way to fight this threat.
- When your body is moving your mind follows! Increasing physical activity has been shown to improve academic achievement.
“Intense physical activity programs have positive effects on academic achievement, including increased concentration; improved mathematics, reading and writing test scores; and reduced disruptive behavior.” (Action for Healthy Kids 2004)
- Shared goals and physical activity build relationships! SGD provides young people with an opportunity to come together under the guidance of adult Leaders and work toward the common goal of completing the Seattle Marathon. Positive relationships with peers and adults are crucial to the growth of our young people.
- Finally, SGD offers students a safe and fun after school activity. Many students are on their own once school lets out, with no adult supervision or organized programming available. In Washington, 31% of K-12 youth are responsible for taking care of themselves outside of school hours. (After School Alliance) The hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex. (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2002) The SGD experience provides students with healthy alternatives to risky behavior.
The Students Run L.A. Model
Students Go the Distance is modeled on the highly successful Students Run L.A. program. SRLA) which operates in more than 120 of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s middle and high schools and has trained over 20,000 students since it began in 1989 with remarkable results:
- Over 97 percent of SRLA students complete the marathon.
- Over 90 percent of SRLA seniors who complete the marathon graduate from high school (the graduation rate in the L.A. Unified School District is 65 percent).
- An average of 75 percent of SRLA students who graduate go on to college or university.
Anecdotal evidence from SRLA also suggests that students benefit from improved health and are less interested in negative behavior practices such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, gang involvement, teen pregnancy and school truancy.
For more information please contact Meg Butterworth, Director, Students Go the Distance, at 206-391-3164 or email at mbutterworth@StudentsGoTheDistance.org.