According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, obesity still remains at about 17% among our nation’s young people ranging in ages 2-19 years even though the rate of obesity in 2-5-year-olds has been on a downward slope.  The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents be active for at least 60 minutes every day. 

Because of local support and interest in this program, the Hickman County 4-H and FCS Agents teamed up to continue our fifth year of Ready Set Run Club despite the challenges due to COVID-19.  Ready Set Run is more than just a running and walking program, it’s a character-building program that targets youth ages 8-13, or (3^rd-8^th grades) to participate in a 5K run.  The club met twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, after school for a duration of 13 weeks.  This program would usually be an 18 or 19-week program, however, because of Covid-19 and socially distancing guidelines, we were not able to start this program until March.  During this time, youth are being equipped with physical training and a goal-setting mentality to accomplish their personal running goals.  Issues such as growing confidence and self-esteem, respecting authority, and dealing with peer pressure are just a few topics covered. Proper nutrition is also covered to help kids understand that all aspects combined can create a healthier person.

With our 19 youth, we had 8 consistent teen leaders and four parents attending each time to help with our youth “runners” as they all run at different paces. Students walked/ran a total of 620 miles.  Participants overall increased their timed run/walk pace by an average of 2.5 minutes for a timed mile.  Physical activity can reduce the risk for chronic disease and premature death. Physical activity has academic and benefits. This program allowed youth to set goals for physical activity and increased the daily amount of physical activity for children and adolescents who participated.