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Kindergartner Lexxus Blue Dog runs a leg of a relay race during the kickoff event for the Run Across the Rez program at the Enemy Swim Day School near Waubay. (Courtesy photo / October 24, 2012) |
There was one lone runner in the Enemy Swim Day School running program last year, and interest in running and physical activity was waning among students.
Enemy Swim Day School administrators decided to try to do something about that.
"The declining participation motivated us to find some way to get the running program back on track in our school," said school administrative assistant Ellen Robertson.
Their efforts paid off, and the Waubay-area school received a $1,500 grant from the ING Run For Something Better program, which partnered with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education to help 50 schools improve or establish running programs.
The Run Across the Rez program kicked off last week. Students can run and keep track of their progress on a map of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate lands.
"The map of our reservation makes the program culturally relevant," she said.
That way, it makes it seem like the kids are running to a destination that's familiar to them, she said.
"We want to integrate running into their lives as much as possible," she said. "Having a visual, like a map of where they live, helps us understand that they can actually run in their area and in their home."
Students will receive prizes as they progress through the running program. Implementing the program would have been impossible had it not been for the grant, Robertson said.
Robertson said about half of the school's students are overweight, obese or at risk when it comes to issues of obesity.
While all 139 students at the school are participating in the program, the progress of children in grades 4-8 are being monitored by using the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run test. Students were tested before the program began and will be tested again afterward.
"Integrating a running program into children's lifestyles will help them have healthier cardiovascular systems, fight childhood obesity and contribute to an overall healthier lifestyle in the long run," Robertson said.
Students have a choice of running at school, home or on a treadmill. Robertson wants students to complete 20 miles by Christmas time.
"It's a pretty lofty goal," she said.
So far, two children have completed their first miles. They can also choose to do other physical activities that equate to a mile.
For instance, 12 minutes of basketball play time are counted as one mile. The activities don't have to be done during school, Robertson said.
Students who reach the 20-mile mark will get to attend a college track meet. Robertson said students will likely attend one at Northern State University.
"It might encourage them to take up running as a sport and get involved with cross country or track," Robertson said. "We have to make it important in their lives, even if they just end up running for physical enjoyment."
