Run Flyer Run ... and they did!

The Final numbers are in! It's official! The Findley Flyers have run 9,896 miles this school year! 129 students crossed the marathon line and countless more ran half marathons, 20 miles, or simply had a positive experience learning how to set goals and reach them.

The children ran, they walked, they giggled, they worked together, and they beamed with pride as they participated in the Findley Flyers.  We could not have done the program without our awesome volunteers and the support of the Findley PTO and staff. A huge thank you to all who made it happen, both the numbers below and the intrinsic lessons the kids learned about running and moving. The biggest lesson of all is that it is fun to run and reach goals! We look forward to seeing everyone out on the track next year. Check out our website or email us if you are interested in being part of the parent
volunteer team.

Thank you all and congratulations to the children!

 Grade    #Students  Total Miles
  K          103            1272
  1           144            1855.25
  2           135            1899
  3           129            1622
  4           156            2095.25
  5           153            1152.5

820 kids ran 9,896 miles from Portland to the South Pole!

Final days to reach your goals -- May 27, 2014

The last day for Running Club is Tuesday, May 27th. It’s not too late to reach your marathon goal!

Over 100 marathoners, more to come!

This school year, over 600 children participated in the Findley Flyers. 430 children were  still participating in March. 109 children have run a marathon (that’s 26 miles or 104 laps around the track) so far this year! As of March, the whole school ran 7,896 miles, or all the way to Sydney Australia. By the end of the year the children running together will reach close to 10,000 miles. That is a lot of feet moving!

The last day for Running Club is Tuesday, May 27th. That means students have one last chance to meet their goals!

It's more than running!

Findley Flyers was started to teach children exercise is fun.  We believe if children learn at an early age how good it feels to move, they will take that with them for the rest or their lives.  

The lessons children learn as a Findley Flyer include how to set goals, how it feels to have a healthy body, what it means to work together to support each other, and moving helps clear their minds and gives them energy for the rest of the day.

But….it’s not about the numbers.  It’s not even just about running….

This is what happened out on the track this year.   The results are beyond amazing……

~ An across the board improvement in fitness level.   

~ An improvement in the ability to focus.  As one teacher said “Running club marks the days of the week for me.  The kids have a different kind of energy on the day they run.”

~ Children collaborating on the track.  Many run and work together to reach their marathon goals, often crossing that finish line together.

~ Student’s supporting each other.  One boy ran the last two miles of the marathon for his friend who was unable to run because he broke his toe.  

~ Community created around a common goal.  Every child at school is a Findley Flyer.  They can run or not run as they choose but they are all Findley Flyers.  One school, one team.

~ Running club is a self led activity. It is up to the student to decide what they are going to do.  When they reach their goal, they can take full ownership of it.  They did it, they know it, they are really proud of what they have accomplished.

~ Children are given something to do when they don’t know what to do at lunch recess.  New students come and they can run.  A student is feeling left out on the playground, they run.  Something to do, something to feel good about, and something to look forward to.

Can you have too much fun running?

A Findley Flyer reported to us, "I'm just having so much fun running right now!" We think the sentiment is shared with 430 kids participating in the Findley Flyers this month! That's a lot of runners! Amazing work done by the kids with 45 marathoners, 3 "50" milers, and many more reaching their goals in the month of April. These kids ran 904 miles in March, double from last month! The grand total so far for the year is 7,896 miles or all the way to Sydney, Australia! 

Here is a March breakdown by grade. Way to go Findley Flyers!

 Grade  Students    Miles Run
   K        89           108
  1st       81           164.25
  2nd     57            176.5
  3rd      84            139
  4th      64            223.75
  5th      55              93

Stoller 5k coming up ... April 6

Wouldn’t it be fun to put our training to work in the form of an upcoming race?  The Stoller 5k is on Sunday, April 6th!  A 5k is 3 miles.  We can do that!  How many Flyers can join us for this fun community event?  Find out more at www.stoller5k.com  We hope to see you and your children out there!  

Findley Flyers in February?

You may be wondering how many children are running with the Findley Flyers.  We were!  So we counted our cards and found out.  355 Findley Flyers ran during the winter month of February!   So far this year, we have run 7007 miles!

The children learned in the assembly today how many miles each grade has run, how many marathoners per grade (medal count), and how many children are participating the in Flyers.  We reminded them to focus on their goal, whether it is running a half marathon (13 miles) or marathon (26 miles), or just enjoying being out there, or committing to run with us every Tuesday and Thursday.  We discussed how it takes commitment and time to reach their goals, but they can do it and have fun while they try!  We have about 11 weeks left.  If your child runs 4 laps every week, that’s 11 miles!  Where will they go from here!?  

Children Participation (Feb) Marathon Medal Count  

Kindergartner   573

1^st Grade          816

2^nd Grade         604

3^rd Grade         487

4^th Grade         605

5^th Grade         212