Rachael Ray's Non-profit Organization Yum-o!

Marathon Kids

Now in its sixteenth year, Marathon Kids® is a free school and community-based fitness program for K-5th graders and their families that combines endurance-building running/walking, nutrition and schoolyard gardening programs. The goal of the program is for children to develop the love and habit of moving through space and to carry forward the power of muscular, nutritional and psychological well-being.

Marathon Kids participants learn to live an active and healthy lifestyle by running or walking 26.2 miles over six months in increments of a quarter mile or half mile at a time, eating healthy food daily and even learning to grow fruits and veggies! The program is provided free to public and private elementary schools, as well as homeschools or independent families. Physical educators, classroom teachers and parents can incorporate Marathon Kids into their curriculum, after-school programs and at home with their families.

The program is currently in nine locations – including Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Navajo Nation and the Rio Grande Valley – and is growing across the country. Visit the Marathon Kids website to learn how you can take part or initiate a program in your community!