Omaha Running CLub





		_{Running Youth} How Far is Too Far? Check out the RRCA article to find out! A great youth running site: www.youthrunner.com Local Groups: Nebraska Association Youth Clubs part of the USA Track & Field Nebraska Association Bellevue Breeze Track Club The Bellevue Breeze Track Club is a summer youth organization dedicated to providing guidance, discipline, a positive alternative, competitive meets and fun for the youth in the Bellevue/Omaha/Plattsmouth and surrounding communities through the sport of track and field. The Bellevue Breeze organization understands the importance that sports play in the development of life skills. It is important that we all understand that being a good athlete will last for a short period, but being a good person will pay dividends forever. So come on out and enjoy the "Breeze".The club meets on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 at the Bellevue East track beginning in mid-April, continuing to late July. There are meets on the weekends throughout the summer and the schedule is listed on the Nebraska Assoication Youth Club website above. This group is sponsored by the Bellevue Recreation Department and more info can be obtained by calling their office (293-3142) or contacting the head coaches, Bryan and DeeDee McKinley at 293-4150. Cornhusker Flyers Track Club The Cornhusker Flyers are a USA Track & Field Nebraska Association member youth club, offering an opportunity for boys and girls ages 18 and younger in the Omaha metropolitan area to participate in the sports of track & field and cross country. More Info: www.cornhuskerflyers.org Contact: John Wissler johnwissler@creighton.edu 402-280-3611 Girls on the Run http://www.girlsontherunofnebraska.com/ Omaha Racers The Omaha Racers specialize in youth Track & Field (ages 8-18) in the spring and youth Cross Country in the fall. The fun and friendly team atmosphere attracts athletes from around the Metro area with abilities ranging from the beginner level to All-Americans who compete at the National Junior Olympic level. More Info: http://www.omaharacers.org Contact: Leigh Officer and/or Bart Wilkins via the Omaha Racers website Online Resources: www.kidsrunning.com that has advice, online tracking, printable progress markers and tons of really great ideas. A great family book about a child afraid to enter a fun run is The Treasure of Health and Happiness by Carol Goodrow. Here is a beginning running kid's program from www.kidsrunning.com (end goal is to run 1 mile) and follows the book HAPPY FEET, HEALTHY FOOD, Your Child's First Journal of Exercise and Healthy Eating by Carol Goodrow: Schedule WEEK 1 - Indoor Book Discussion Running/Apples - Make it Fun Read p.6 Happy Feet, Healthy Food (HF, HF). Brainstorm as a group, for 20 more running activities. Vote on your favorite apple snack found in the book. - Outdoor Physical Activity (1/2 mile) Walk 300m, Jog 100m, Run 100m, Jog 100m, Walk 200m - Make it Fun Run to music. Use some children's tunes, or music with a good beat. OR sing a song while you are walking and running. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 2 - Indoor Book Discussion Walking/Lunchbox Sandwich Special - Make it Fun Read p. 8 HF, HF. Think of a personal home walking goal (ex. Walk to the post office with Mom.) and do it this week. Make it a goal to eat a complete healthy lunch one day. List the menu in words or drawings and bring it to club next week for a special bulletin board or club scrapbook. - Outdoor Physical Activity (1/2 mile) Walk 200m, Jog 200m, Run 100m, Jog 100m, Walk 200m - Make it Fun Add a non-competitive relay. Try a slap-hand relay. Group kids into teams. Instead of passing a baton, kids give "High Fives" to next runners. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 3 - Indoor Book Discussion Hiking/Trail Mix - Make it Fun Read p. 10 HF, HF. Brainstorm as a group, for 20 things you would like to see while hiking. Name as many things as you can think of that you could add to our trail mix recipe. - Outdoor Physical Activity (1/2 mile) Walk 200m, Jog 200m, Run 200m, Jog 100m, Walk 100m - Make it Fun Add a walk down a nature trail. Have the children walk quietly - no talking, so that they don't scare away the wildlife. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 4 - Indoor Book Discussion Running/Oranges - Make it Fun Read p. 12 HF, HF. Discuss fun runs. Who has been to one? This is a good time to announce your end of the club fun run. Talk about the importance of pacing. Pass out orange sections for kids to eat before their exercise today. It's a tradition for children to stand in lines at the Boston Marathon and hand out oranges to the runners. Ask them to pretend they are running the Boston Marathon today. - Outdoor Physical Activity (3/4 mile) Walk 200m, Jog 300m, Run 200m, Walk 200m, Jog 200m, Walk 100m - Make it Fun Play follow the leader on the way to your running area. Walk and jog around the grounds. Run the bases at a baseball diamond, weave in and out of a path, find a little hill and run down. Have the children follow your lead. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 5 - Indoor Book Discussion Exercise/Dog Snacks - Make it Fun Read p. 14 HF, HF. Brainstorm as a group for 10 more ways you can exercise with your pet. Think of 10 healthy snacks that you can feed a pet. Think of 10 unhealthy treats that you should not feed a pet. - Outdoor Physical Activity (3/4 mile) Walk 100m, Jog 300m, Run 200m, Walk 200m, Jog 300m, Walk 100m - Make it Fun Partner run. Have children run with a buddy today. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 6 - Indoor Book Discussion Cycling/Bananas - Make it Fun Read p. 16 HF, HF. List 5 safety rules for bike riding. Write the rainbow of colors on a chart. Start with red. Have kids raise their hands if they have a red bike. Go to orange, and do the same. Then yellow, green, blue, and violet. Find out your class's rainbow of bikes. Discuss the banana split recipe. It's sort of a "topsy-turvy" recipe for it has lots of healthy ingredients and just a few unhealthy add-ons. Ask the kids to try it at home and have a discussion next week. - Outdoor Physical Activity (3/4 mile) Walk 100m, Run any pace 1000m, Walk 100m - Make it Fun Take a nature trail walk after your running session. Find a maple and oak leaf to bring back to the room and press. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 7 - Indoor Book Discussion Baseball/Berries - Make it Fun Read p. 18 HF, HF. Poll the kids for their favorite baseball team. Let each group take turns chanting for their team 5 times (ex. "Red Sox Rule!") Brainstorm for 10 ways to eat berries. Take a moment now to discuss the banana split recipe from last week. - Outdoor Physical Activity (3/4 mile) 1200 meters - any pace - Make it Fun Increase your distance by taking another nature trail walk after the running. Collect something to bring back to room and draw: acorns, leaves, caterpillars, etc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 8 - Indoor Book Discussion Crunches/Avocados - Make it Fun Read p. 20 HF, HF. See how many places kids can think of to do crunches in 3 minutes. Do this as a group. Have kids raise hands. Write their responses on a chart. Do the same for guacomole dip. Have kids think of foods that are healthier than chips to dip into guacomole. Time for 3 minutes. - Outdoor Physical Activity (1 mile) 200m walk, 200m jog (repeat walk/run 4X) - Make it Fun If you want, substitute the "Indian Messenger" game. Walk in single file. Child at the back sprints to the front. When child reaches front, child who is now at the back sprints to the front. Do this for a mile. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 9 - Indoor Book Discussion Basketball/Nuts - Make it Fun Read p. 22 HF, HF. Like basketball, many skills are learned at home, away from the pressure of a team or class. Have kids share things that they have learned to do at home. Take 3 minutes to think of as many different kinds of foods that you can eat with nuts. - Outdoor Physical Activity (1 mile) 200m walk, 1400m any pace - Make it Fun Increase your distance by taking another short nature trail walk - Visit your trail and observe. How is the season changing? What can you collect? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEEK 10 - Indoor Book Discussion Dance/Grapes - Make it Fun Read p. 24 HF, HF. This dance page is mostly ballet. Let your ballet dancers take turns and demonstate the steps they know. Brainstorm for 5 (or more) foods which are made from grapes. Lots of kids think it's "fun" to eat grapes. Why? - Outdoor Physical Activity (1/2 mile warm up, 1-K fun run after club) Warm up for your fun run. Take a walk to your nature trail. Jog and walk a little on your field. - Make it Fun FUN RUN! Have parents pick children up after club session and head straight for an after-club fun run at a beautiful locale. Take a lot of photos. Award a little "prize" at the finish line along with a healthy treat. Say, "Goodbye," for the season and look forward to your spring club.

Running Youth

_{Running Youth}