We Run This City Marathon Program
“I feel I accomplished something valuable in my life. . . I feel like a winner!”
–Imani Wells, age 11
Hundreds of Cleveland area young people “go the distance” each year by conditioning to run portions of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. The We Run This City youth marathon program is a partnership between Steps to a Healthier Cleveland, the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.
Student runners condition with YMCA mentors over 11 weeks and cross the finish line of the actual Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, receiving the official marathon medal. The program traditionally has two modules and students either run the final 1.2 miles of the marathon or the 10K (6.2 miles).
In 2008, the third year of the program, 283 student runners lined up on the cool and rainy morning of May 18 representing 23 different schools, more than three times the number from year one. While the majority—210 students—completed the final 1.2 miles of their “marathon” as had been done in years past, nearly three times as many students—71, up from 23 in 2007—ran the entire 10K event. Even more exciting, two seventh graders—relative newcomers to the sport who had only run their first 10K the prior year—completed the half marathon, with one of them finishing quite competitively.
The mission of We Run This City is to encourage healthy habits and exercise in Cleveland’s young people. With our running programs, we strive to teach young people to set and achieve goals, increasing their self-confidence as well as their fitness and endurance. Crossing the finish line is just the beginning!
The program is supported with generous support from the Medical Mutual Foundation of the Cleveland Foundation and the St. Luke’s Foundation.
