Build Community with School Fun Runs

Have you considered organizing a Fun Run for your school? These events build community spirit, enhance physical activity, and can even serve as school fundraisers.

Fun Runs are completely customizable to fit the needs of each school. You may choose to limit participation to only students. Or you may choose to have students, parents, and school faculty lace up their running shoes together. You can let participants walk, run, jog, or grapevine during Fun Runs – you’re limited only by imagination! Fun Runs can be themed, competitive 5k events, or shorter, more collaborative Mile Runs.

Webster Central School District in Webster, NY has been hosting an annual Fun Run for over 50 years. According to www.democratandchronicle.com, the annual Webster Fun Run has become tradition, as well as a rite of passage, for the students of their community.

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

According to www.democratandchronicle.com (Part of the USA Today network),  “The annual (Webster Fun Run, in Webster, NY), in its 52nd year, is as much a tradition among Webster Central School District students as it is a rite of passage.  

Another veteran of Fun Runs, Stacey Brickman from West Bloomfield Hills, MI has organized several elementary and middle school Fun Run events. “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,” Stacey said. “We would have a fun run even if it didn’t raise money because it is a blast.” www.ptotoday.com

How can you get started with school Fun Runs? 

Fitness Finders® offers a Challenge Series® program that provides easy to implement fun-run templates and awards.

The Challenge Series® is a youth running or walking program combined with imaginative monthly events and accompanying awards. The Series may be conducted as often as once a month, for nine months, just once a year or any number in between. The monthly challenges may be held during physical education classes, after school, at recess, as an active assembly, at a club/recreation setting, as a community Fun Run or part of an established community-wide run. The challenges permit young people to participate in a one-half to one mile run/walk or, on occasion, longer distances.

With the Challenge Series®, participation and completion are the focus and are rewarded. Everyone is a winner! Upon completing the specified distance, each young person receives a special award for the event. For example, a pumpkin is awarded for an October Pumpkin Run or a shamrock is provided for a March Shamrock Shuffle.

The Challenge Series is a powerful, event-driven activity that encourages young people to set a goal of walking/running a specified distance. But how could a Challenge Series® Fun Run serve as a school fundraiser?

We recommend organizing a Challenge Series® event monthly, with the September/October Fun Run functioning as a kick-off fundraiser, and the final Challenge Series® event in May as an End-of-the-Year fundraiser. Both of 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, and if possible, specify your intended use for the money to generate excitement. Make it a fun, whole-school, community-wide affair!

You can also raise money by having people pledge dollar amounts per lap (or steps or miles), or you can have your Fun Run be part of a larger, carnival-type event that has a variety of onsite fundraising games and goodies to purchase. You are in charge, so your Fun Run can be anything you need it to be. But all Fun Runs are great at promoting physical activity and creating community spirit.

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. 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.