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Date: 10/27/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – Children in East Longmeadow have been pounding the pavement as part of a Kids’ Running Clinic from the Ordinary Marathoner Foundation, athletic store 4RUN3 and the Recreation Department. Now, they are gearing up to participate in the Spooky Sprint 5k on Oct. 30.
The Ordinary Marathoner Foundation (OMF) is a recently created nationwide non-profit based in East Longmeadow that works to fund athletic programs for people who otherwise may not have access to exercise opportunities.
After raising “a couple thousand dollars,” founder OMF Scott Rieke said the first two programs have gotten off the ground - the Kids’ Running Clinic and a “Running for Autism” program in Texas, which works with people with autism who want to become runners. The first runner they worked with recently completed a 5K.
Roughly 40 children signed up for the Kids’ Running Clinic, which has been operating for about seven weeks. The children, who are split into grade three through five and grade six through eight, run quarter-mile laps around Birchland Park Middle School and collect a sticker for each lap they complete.
Rieke said most of the children have come back each week and improved throughout the program. The first couple weeks of the program were focused on basics, such as stretching and form running. Some walk more than run, he explained, but the goal is to work on improving over time. In August, at the start of the program, the children could run about a mile in half an hour.
Recently, Rieke said, one of the participants ran a 5k – 3.1 miles – in 30 minutes. “We’ve got some talent,” he said.
Running the Spooky Sprint 5K is the culmination of the kids’ work. A tent will be set up at the finish line and after running the 5K, the runners will receive medals.
“I can’t wait for race day to see their faces come through the finish line,” Rieke told Reminder Publishing.
Rieke said he is confident that the program will return next fall and hopes that a spring version can be worked out with the town and their business partner, 4RUN3.
The Spooky Sprint 5K will be hosted at Center Field in East Longmeadow on Oct. 30. The race kicks off at 9 a.m.