Kids love to run. From their earliest days of walking, the desire to move fast is strong – stronger, in fact, than a child’s natural fear of falling. How many times did our toddlers fall in an effort to run fast before they were even good at walking? It is only our parental attempts to keep them safe that can slow them down. Sit still. Hold my hand. Stay where I can see you. Be careful. Watch out! Look where you’re going! There’s a litany of warnings to slow them down, but – aside from the team sports many will play when they get older – how often do we encourage our children to just go? Run wild! Be fast! Don’t look – just run! In this day and age, letting our children safely run free for the simple joy of moving fast can be challenging. In this issue of Endurance, we celebrate the organizations that are taking creative steps to reinforce and enable healthy lifestyles in young children through running and mindful choices about what they eat and how they use their time.
In our feature story this month, writer Jennifer Kirby takes a look at the creative approach teacher Laura Fenn took to combine education and physical activity to form “The Walking Classroom” in Chapel Hill back in 2008. Having taught in East Harlem and New Jersey before moving to Chapel Hill, Fenn drew upon the insights she gained as a teacher trying to engage restless students as well as those that came to her while exercising with her iPod to create a new and unique approach to learning. Incorporated as a nonprofit in 2011, The Walking Classroom now has thousands of students in 140 classrooms in 20 states reaping the benefits of Fenn’s epiphany.
Endurance Magazine also takes a snapshot look at a few other great organizations promoting kids’ health and wellness. Our “Healthy Kids” feature includes Swim for Smiles, Kids in Training, Let Me Run, The E3 Project and J.Y. Joyner Elementary in Raleigh. While Swim for Smiles and Kids in Training help kids develop healthy habits while training for a triathlon, Let Me Run, the E3 Project and J.Y. Joyner Elementary are engaging children in running activities. And by helping kids, some of these organizations are inspiring parents to become more active, too.
With these great organizations helping children, let us not forget the responsibility of employers to help ensure we adults stay healthy, too. Thomas Henson offers a great article this month on corporate wellness. While fitness and a typically sedentary job don’t naturally go together, organizations of all sizes are adopting employer-sponsored health programs that benefit not just employees, but employers as well. There is no “typical” workplace wellness program; they are as varied as the companies that enact them. Henson provides some key points to consider in implementing a corporate wellness plan. Regardless of size, employers across North Carolina are getting the message that health programs are win-win-win … for the employer, the employee and ultimately the customers who rely on a company’s products or services.
Of course, one of the easiest ways to get fit is simply to run. That’s why this month we also include our annual fall shoe review guide as well as two in-depth reviews on some hot new shoes. Be sure to check out our guide, then hit up your local running store to test out a few pairs before you buy!
In addition to these and the other great articles in this issue of Endurance, I want to give a shout out to my new friend Joseph Michael Kai-tsu Liu. The 32-year-old runner from Canada passed through Raleigh recently on his nearly 12,000-mile journey running from Montreal to the southern tip of Argentina in South America. He estimates that his trip will take two years to complete. I met him for dinner in Raleigh and joined him for a few miles the next morning. You can follow his progress at www.runningtotheendoftheworld.com. Good luck, Joe!
Inspire. Perform. Endure.
