Healthy Kids Running Series promotes active lifestyle, fun for area youth

Apr. 7—Christy Sonderman has a 5-year old son and a 2-year old daughter and recognizes it is never too early to promote an active lifestyle.

When the Concord Township resident came across a local race at Lake Catholic High School that is part of the national program called Healthy Kids Running Series on Facebook, she was all in, and so were her children.

"We have a member of the family who does high school cross country and track and my kids idolize him, so they want to be like him, and it also gets them out of the house and away from the TV screen so this event is great," Sonderman said. "There's some competitiveness with the older kids, but to see the little ones running just to run and having no idea what they are doing but they are doing it with a huge smile on their face is special."

The local series at Lake Catholic started April 7 and continues each Sunday at 3 p.m. at the high school soccer field through May 5.

Race coordinator Leslie Radke got involved in the series in 2022 when her daughter ran in the event. There was no 2023 race in Mentor and when she found out the local chapter needed someone to lead the charge this year, she happily stepped up.

"After participating in 2022, my daughter would always ask, 'Mom can I run another race?' and so when the chance came to get involved it was an easy decision," Radke said. "While we do give out trophies for the older kids who have the fastest times at the end of the series, the goal of Healthy Kids is to promote positive activity."

According to the national website, HKRS was founded in 2009 to provide children with a fun introduction to the sport of running in an environment that builds confidence and self-esteem: "We believe our cross-country inspired program will encourage kids to adopt a 'Get Up and Go' attitude."

HKRS is a national, community-based non-profit that provides an inclusive five-week running series for ages 2-14, designed for kids to get active, feel accomplished and lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.

The mission statement is: "To engage communities and families by providing an inclusive youth running experience, inspiring kids to believe in themselves and lead an active healthy lifestyle."

Radke arrived early on April 7 to set up the quarter-mile course at the high school soccer field that the runners would be taking on.

She said 84 kids were registered for the first of the five-week series with divisions consisting of Pre-K (2- and 3-year olds) running a 50-yard dash, Pre-K (4- and 5-year olds) running a 75-yard dash, Kindergarten through first grade running a quarter mile, second and third grade running a half-mile and fourth through eighth grade running one mile.

The series is a nationwide event. Opportunities are offered across multiple spots in Northeast Ohio with races in Medina and Cleveland as well as Mentor.