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Lance Armstrong is a Marathon Kid
Austin school kids taking the first steps in a six-month marathon program will get to chase Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Armstrong will run in the ceremonial flag lap of the Marathon Kids kick-off ceremony at Mike Myers Track & Soccer Stadium at the University of Texas. He’ll run with the Austin school district kids starting at 9 a.m., according to Marathon Kids founder Kay Morris. Other school districts start at 11 a.m.
Talk about incentive!
Armstrong, who recently announced a return to competitive cycling, will run with his children, who are Marathon Kids participants. (Who wants to place money on whether they become competitive runners instead of cyclists?)
Marathon Kids is offered to kindergarten through fifth graders at 17 area public school districts, plus home schools and private schools. During the next six months, the kids will run 26.2 miles in quarter-mile to half-mile increments. They color in running logs and fuel logs, which challenge them to eat five fruits and vegetables a day.
Last year, more than 50,000 Central Texas children registered for the program, and 85 percent completed their marathon. This year 53,000 local students are expected to register.
The nationally acclaimed, free program is in its 12th year in Central Texas. It’s also available in Austin, Dallas, Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Final Mile Medal Celebration is scheduled for Feb. 21 at Austin ISD’s Burger Stadium. For more information, go to www.MarathonKids.org.
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