Community Corner

Fox Valley Kids Marathon Kicks Off Saturday—Separately From Sunday's Fox Valley Marathon

More than 275 people are registered for the CASA Kane County running event.

The CASA Kane County Fox Valley Kids Marathon kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday in St. Charles and includes more than 275 registrants.

The race was open to children ages 5 to 13. Instead of running all 26.2 miles at once, the kids were given 16 weeks over the summer to run or walk 25 miles, one mile at a time, according to a release from Fox Valley Marathon Races.

On Saturday, the kids will complete the final 1.2 miles and claim their marathon medal and T-shirt.

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“It was a huge success last year,” race co-Director Craig Bixler said in the release. “We love that we’re able to get the children involved, and we felt this was a fantastic way to promote good health habits in our youth. Instead of a one-time occurrence, the children are given all summer, and hopefully they see the importance of regular exercise.

“The joy on the kids’ faces when they cross the finish line and pick up their medal is a great sight.”

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The 2011 Kids Marathon was held the same day as the Advocate Dreyer Fox Valley Marathon, but Bixler and co-race Director Dave Sheble decided to move the kids race to it own day—Saturday—to accommodate the growing popularity of both events, the release states.

Five fun runs were scheduled throughout the summer, and each child was presented with a Mileage Log Sheet upon registration to track his or her progress.

“The heart of children is everything we focus our efforts on at CASA Kane County,” said Gloria Bunce, executive director at CASA Kane County, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that advocates for the best interest of abused and neglected children within the juvenile court system. “Supporting healthy children through mind and body is what I know we all strive for in our community.

“The CASA Kane County Kids Marathon is a great opportunity to partner with the Fox Valley team and collaborate on raising awareness and support,” Bunce said. “The inspiring staff at Fox Valley Marathon has resulted to a great partnership and their hard work has been evident in how much this event has grown in just three years.

“We presented this opportunity to the marketing committee and to the board of directors and then quickly said, ‘How could we not do this or get more involved?’ This experience has been amazing and as many nonprofits know who are experiencing difficult times, this was just another great way to gain awareness for the CASA program who are making lives better for abused and neglected children.”

The 2012 Advocate Dreyer Fox Valley Marathon will take place Sunday, Sept. 16, beginning in St. Charles. For more information, head to www.fv26.com.


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