How to Plan a School Fun Run That Builds Community, Raises Funds, and Inspires Active Students

Why Organize a School Fun Run?

A school Fun Run is one of the most engaging ways to boost spirit, promote physical activity, and bring students, teachers, and families together. These events can also double as effective school fundraisers, encouraging teamwork and healthy habits in one exciting day. 

Fun Runs are completely customizable to fit your school's goals. You can host a short one-mile walk/run or a more competitive 5K-style event.

Participants can walk, jog, skip, or even grapevine to the finish line - creativity is encouraged! Many schools now add themes like color runs, superhero days, or glow-in-the-dark nights to make the event even more memorable. 

Real-World Examples: Tradition Meets Excitement 

Webster Central School District in Webster, NY, has been hosting an annual Fun Run for more than 50 years. According to Democrat and Chronicle (part of the USA Today Network), this tradition, has become a rite of passage for Webster students.

 
Kevin Sayers, a physical education teacher at Plank Road North Elementary, has coordinated the event for the past decade. The mile run kick-starts the academic year by bringing 700 students together. He says,

“The idea is to encourage children to be active, learn how to be a competitor and a spectator, and to encourage good sportsmanship, empathy, and camaraderie among students.”

Similarly, another veteran of Fun Runs, Stacey Brickman from West Bloomfield Hills, MI has helped organize multiple elementary and middle school Fun Runs.

“A successful fun run accomplishes all the things a PTO tries to create all year. It builds school spirit, increases participation, raises school pride, and is a fabulous, fun whole-school event. We would have a fun run even if it didn’t raise money because it is a blast!”

Get Started With a Fitness Finders Challenge Series Fun Run?

If you're ready to bring this kind of excitement to your school, the Fitness Finders Challenge Series® makes it simple with easy-to-implement fun-run templates and awards.

The Challenge Series is a flexible running/walking program that combines imaginative monthly themes, awards, and community fun. The Series may be conducted as often as once a month, for nine months, just once a year, or any number in between. Schools can host challenges:

• During PE class or recess
• As an after-school Fun Run open to families
• As a fundraising event tied to seasonal celebrations

The challenges permit young people to participate in a half to one-mile run/walk or, on occasion, longer distances. Each Challenge Series event focuses on participation and completion rather than competition - so everyone's a winner! 

Students receive a themed award after finishing the distance, such as:

• 🍀 March Shamrock Shuffle → Shamrock award

• 🎃 October Pumpkin Run → Pumpkin award

• 🦃 November Turkey Trot → Turkey award

• ❄️ Winter Race with the Sled Dogs Challenge → Sled Dog Bundle

These tangible incentives keep students motivated and engaged month after month.

Turning Fun Runs Into Fundraisers

Want your event to also raise funds? Here's how to combine fitness and fundraising powerfully:

• Kick-off & wrap-up runs: Host a Fall Fun Run fundraiser in September/October and a Year-End Celebration Run in May.
• Charge a small registration fee or ask for pledges per lap or mile.
• Add a school carnival, food stands, or spirit-wear booths for extra revenue.
• Promote your event through school newsletters, social media, and community flyers.

These Fun Runs could be opened to the public, and we recommend charging a moderate registration fee. Make sure you advertise these events as fundraisers. Be transparent about where funds go - for example, "All proceeds help fund new PE equipment or students' wellness programs." When families know the purpose, excitement grows!

The Challenge Series is a powerful, event-driven activity that encourages young people to set a goal of walking/running a specified distance. 

Pro Tips for Planning a Successful School Fun Run

1. Set Clear Goals. Decide whether the focus is participation, fundraising, or community connection.
2. Pick a Theme. Holiday-themed, seasonal, or costume runs add instant fun and photo opportunities.
3. Involve Everyone. Invite parents, teachers, and even local businesses to participate or sponsor the event.
4. Promote Widely. Use social media, newsletters, and bulletin boards to build anticipation.
5. Celebrate Success. Recognize top participants, thank volunteers, and share photos in your next school assembly or email blast.

Why Schools Love the Challenge Series

• The Challenge Series helps teachers and PE coordinators:
• Encourage lifelong fitness habits
• Promote inclusivity and teamwork
• Simplify event setup with ready-made themes and awards
• Keep students active all year long

We would love to answer any questions you might have regarding Challenge Series® fun runs and pricing. Please don’t hesitate to call 800-789-9255 or email richf@fitnessfinders.net for more information. 

About Fitness Finders

Fitness Finders, Inc. is committed to Shaping America's Future® by providing effective motivational programs and awards designed to develop the body, mind, and character of youth. We strive to provide practical and innovative solutions for physical educators, teachers, and youth leaders.

Zooper Safari: Manage Your Classroom While Meeting Common Core Standards

With Fitness Finders’® new curriculum, Zooper Safari™, your students will embark on an exciting trek around the world, learning about positive classroom behaviors while meeting CCSS and NGSS standards. 

By appealing to students’ natural curiosity and love of animals, Zooper Safari™ introduces unique Featured Creatures that display Zooper Behaviors students will be excited to investigate, and then emulate in their personal choices. By including CCSS and NGSS standards, Fitness Finders® is combining academic learning with classroom management to help teachers create a positive and successful learning environment.

Zooper Safari™ is all-inclusive!

The innovative Zooper Safari™ curriculum includes:

*9 Lesson Plans: Introductory Lesson, 1 Lesson covering each Zooper Behavior, and Review Lesson. Teachers who have a SMART Board or electronic whiteboard will love our online, interactive lesson plans, with links to videos of Featured Creatures displaying the Zooper Behaviors in their habitats. 

Prefer teaching from paper? You’ll appreciate our economically printable black-and-white lesson plans. They include the video links, as well, so you can prepare ahead of time to share the information from the videos with your students, as desired.

*Hands-on Reinforcement Activities: Includes large group games for reviewing, a multitude of activities for Learning Centers, cute crafts you’ll love to display, yummy snacks that incorporate counting and shape recognition, large group brainstorming exercises that include individual writing prompts, and more.

*Student Materials: Includes grade-appropriate student journals or coloring pages, activity templates, and review games. All of the student materials (except the Zooper Safari™ Adventure Game Board) are designed to be printed in color OR black and white. 

YOU choose which materials to use, as well as the style and the amount to print!

*Zooper Safari™ Map: Students love seeing this colorful, 12-page map come together piece-by-piece as they complete their Zooper adventure.

*Unique Awards: Fitness Finders® has decades of research and experience motivating kids to set goals, adopt positive behaviors, and achieve. We’ve included LaceLink™ Lanyards, cool tokens, and charming stickers to help you create excitement and desire in your students to learn the information, transfer the behaviors, and become Zooper Explorers!

Zooper Safari™ is written BY teachers FOR teachers!

The Zooper Safari™ curriculum was written by teachers with decades of experience. The components of each lesson are consistent so that prep time may be simple and minimal. Each lesson is comprised of the following:

*Review: Information from the previous lesson is reviewed.

*Anticipatory Set and Lesson: Includes information about the Featured Creature, continent, and Zooper Behavior.

*Turn and Talk: Students reflect and share with one another something they’ve learned.

*Transfer and Reflect: Includes a read-aloud book recommendation with talking points to discuss the Zooper Behavior, as well as instructions on completing a grade-level-appropriate student journal or coloring page, designed to enhance learning and sharpen writing skills.

*Summary: A quick restatement of the Zooper Behavior.

*Assessment & Award: Easily evaluate student learning; then encourage student participation by awarding our integral, fun rewards.

*Hands-On Reinforcement Activities: A variety of creative activities that continue the fun and learning.

At the end of each section and activity, you will find CCSS and NGSS standards that are met by that segment of the lesson. You simply enter the date in the box provided to record when each standard has been covered, making inclusion and documentation of these standards quick and easy. (There’s also space for you to write in any standards we may have missed!)

Fitness Finders® has been working with, and advocating for, teachers since 1974. We have teachers on our staff, teachers as our family and friends, and teachers in our community with whom we consult and support. We’ve seen a lot of trends, policy mandates, and political debates about education come and go. 

But one thing remains consistent – the passionate dedication to students that teachers bring to the classroom. Our goal for Zooper Safari™ is to meet a need we’ve heard expressed by teachers to address behavioral issues and academic standards, at the same time incorporating technology and appealing to students. 

How Mileage Club® Supports Students with Autism: Colin’s Story of Confidence and Community

How Mileage Club Helped One Student Discover Confidence, Joy, and Belonging Through Running

At Hanover-Horton Elementary in Hanover, Michigan, one student's journey with Mileage Club has inspired an entire school community.

Meet Colin.

Colin loves to run. When he participated in Mileage Club in first grade, Colin completed 30 miles. The next year, as a second grader, he more than doubled his mileage, racking up a total of 70 miles. 

At the end of the season, when the school announced that Colin had logged nearly twice as many miles as the next-highest runner for the year, the entire student body erupted in cheers.

And that moment mattered.

Running Became a Place Where Colin Could Shine

Colin has autism, and school hasn't always been an easy place for him. His mom, Carrie, shared that some of his classmates had seen him struggle and “have seen Colin at his worst.” This made coming in first place - and his peers celebrating him - even more meaningful. 

Carrie Nichols shared that Colin showed signs of athleticism from a very young age, but was easily overwhelmed by the chaos and activity of PE class and organized sports. Running offered something different than PE class or organized sports. Instead of navigating a loud environment, quick transitions, or complex team dynamics, running gave Colin:

• A physical release for extra energy
• A sense of independence
• A sense of pride
• A clear, repeatable structure
• A way to feel successful on his own terms

His teacher noticed differences too: after Mileage Club, Colin returned to the classroom calmer, focused, and ready to learn.

Why Running Works for Many Students with Autism

Experts have observed similar benefits in other runners on the autism spectrum. 

Within two years of road racing, Tommy Des Brisay was near the front of the pack. He was confused about where everyone else was the first time he won a race, so he went back up the course to run with each subsequent finisher and cheer for them as they crossed the line.”

Des Brisay, now 25, has personal bests of 15:17 for 5K, 1:10:34 for a half-marathon, and 2:38:50 for a full marathon. It’s not unusual for him to blow by his competition while reciting lines or singing songs from his favorite movies.

Alison Wade wrote for Runner's World, that running doesn't require complex social interaction, yet still allows students to feel part of a supportive community.

“In running, social interaction is common, but it’s not required for success. Running does not require mastery of complex techniques, intricate rules, or the principles of teamwork—but it does offer the opportunity to be a part of a team.”

Russell Lang, Ph.D., the executive director of the Clinic for Autism Research, Evaluation and Support at Texas State University in San Marcos, said that 

“Running, in general, is a community sport and lifetime activity that de-emphasizes social communication and emphasizes repetitive behavior. That lends itself well to alignment with the characteristics of autism.”

 

The repeatable rhythm and self-paced structure of running can create comfort, joy, and confidence.

A Story That Reaches Far Beyond One Track

Colin isn't alone. Athletes like Tommy Des Brisay - a long-distance runner with autism from Ontario - have shown that the characteristics of autism can be strengths in endurance sports. He began running when he turned 14 and dreamed of making the 2020 Paralympic Team. People marvel at what Tommy Des Brisay has been able to accomplish despite his autism

Tommy's mother puts it beautifully:

"What if it's because of his autism that he's this successful? You can choose to look at autism as a disability or as a collection of abilities to be celebrated. 

There's no doubt that for Tommy, part of his success as a runner has always been his unfailing willingness and joy in training. He's the kind of guy who doesn't see it as a tedium of any kind to go forward and do the same workout. There's a comfort for him in that. 

So I think for Tommy, his autistic tendencies are an advantage in a lot of things. One of those is his running."

For Tommy, consistency, joy in routine, and deep focus became advantages, not obstacles.

Back to Colin - and Why Mileage Club Matters

When asked what he liked most about Mileage Club, Colin didn't mention awards, tokens, or applause.

He simply said:

"Running."

Mileage Club didn't just help Colin improve his fitness. It helped him:

• Feel successful
• Build confidence
• Connect with his classmates
• Discover something he loves

This is what Mileage Club is all about.

Children Dive into a Pool of Benefits by Learning to Swim

Three Reasons to Swim

·      Survival

“Only 56 percent of Americans can perform the five, core swimming skills1.” That’s nearly half our country that can’t swim! And over 70% of the world is covered with water. That percentage doesn’t include the thousands of swimming pools and even bathtubs around the world. (Did you know you can drown in just a few inches of water?!) Chances are that in a person’s lifetime, they’re going to encounter a situation that involves them being in or around water.

 

Physical Fitness

Swimming works both cardiovascular health and almost every major muscle in the body. You can also target certain muscles by doing different strokes or workouts such as leg lifts while using water resistance.

On top of that, water will remove most of the natural stress on your bones and joints because of the lack of gravity. It’s one of the reasons that people use this activity for physical therapy.

Increase Overall Quality of life

When kids learn to swim, they decrease their fear of being around water and have a chance to take part in so many new activities. These activities such as boating, canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, etc. can bring joy and new experiences into their lives.

Swimming also reduces stress! You get to give your brain a break by focusing on your exercise and staying afloat. Also, just like any other aerobic exercise, it increases endorphins.

Fun Facts About Swimming

• Elephants can swim as many as 20 miles a day — they use their trunks as natural snorkels!
• Niagara Falls has enough water to fill up all the swimming pools in the United States in less than three days!
• The bikini swimsuit was named after a U.S. nuclear testing site in the South Pacific called Bikini Atoll.
• In butterfly stroke and breaststroke, swimmers need to touch the pool with both hands simultaneously when they finish. Swimmers touch the pool with only one hand when they finish in freestyle and backstroke swimming events.
• An hour of vigorous swimming will burn up to 650 calories. It burns off more calories than walking or biking.
• Swimming is a great cardiovascular exercise because you are moving against the water’s resistance, which is over ten times that of the air.
• Even the smallest world nations enjoy a thriving swimming pool industry (e.g. New Zealand pop. 4,116,900 [Source NZ Census 7 March 2006] - with 65,000 home swimming pools and 125,000 hot tub pools).
• The slowest Olympic swim stroke is the breaststroke.
• The fastest and most efficient swim stroke is the crawl/ freestyle.²

¹Almost Half of America Can't Swim, Survey Says. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://time.com/106912/red-cross-swimming-campaign/

²Games & Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://www.swimmingpool.com/games-safety/pool-fun/fun-facts

³http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/swimming+hole

⁴Wood, E. (n.d.). The Art of Swimming - The Morning News. Retrieved July 1, 2015, from http://www.themorningnews.org/article/the-art-of-swimming