Welcome Back, Kids Marathon Teams!

We hope you have had a great start to the 2012-2013 school year. Remember, it's never too early to start creating your school team and training for the 2013 Oklahoma City Memorial Kids Marathon. Our staff is hard at work to make this the best race yet! Fitness should be a year round, life long goal and teaching tolerance and respect in decision making is a daily lesson. Start today!

Fall weather brings perfect training opportunities. Try these with your class:

• Mark off ¼ mile paths around your school and school grounds. Use these for "brain break" walks. As you catch the whole class focused and engaged in learning, write one of the letters in the word WALK or RUN on the board. When they earn all of the letters, reward them with some fresh air and exercise! Remember to keep track of your mileage.
• Go on a "get to know you" walk. Choose random partners and have them walk side by side as you go on a walk. Stop periodically and pose a question for partners to ask each other (such as, "what is your favorite book?"). Keep walking and repeating! When you return to the classroom, have each partner share one new thing they learned about their walking buddy.
• Encourage students to journal about exercise for homework. Have them write about 1 healthy choice they made at home and share it with the class at a classroom meeting.

LET'S GET STARTED

Registration opened on September 3rd. In order to create your school team for 2013, please do the following:

1. Download and read this year's Welcome Packet. Also, please read the other important information on our website. Some information is new!
2. Get approval from your administrator.
3. When you are ready to create your team, email SHANDA (kids@okcmarathon.com). Tell her your name, your school, your city and that you are the team captain for your school – one captain per school please.
4. As a reply to your email, you will receive directions for creating your school team online via a private link. ***Everyone must do this! All teams from last year have been cleared and a new school team must be created for your school!
5. Decide how you want your participates to register (self register and pay online or team captain registers participates and pays later via an emailed invoice) – EVERYONE MUST CHOOSE YOUR SCHOOL FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU TO BE ON YOUR TEAM!
6. Send out the parent/staff letter (suggestion available in the Welcome Packet).
7. Start registering! Make sure participants who self register bring you a copy of their confirmation (adults and kids). Keep for your records.

OTHER INFORMATION

• Please send me information on programs your school uses for training for the Kids Marathon. We want to see how you reward, encourage, and teach your kids! Let's share our great ideas.
• If your school has students who may need financial assistance to participate in the Kids Marathon, please let me know.

Have a Happy Fall!

Shanda Bandi, MEd., NSCA-CPT
Oklahoma kids@okcmarathon.com