Road Runners Club of America Announces 2024 Kids Run the Nation Grants

November 19, 2024

The RRCA has granted more than $385,000 to youth running programs since 2007.

ARLINGTON, Virginia – November 19, 2024 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is pleased to announce the 2024 Kids Run the Nation grant recipients. Since the grant fund’s inception in 2007, the RRCA has distributed more than $385,000 to youth running programs nationwide. This year, 41 programs from 24 states serving more than 21,000 children will receive a total of $30,000 in funding. RRCA members, individual donors, the Insurance Management Group (IMG), and K&K Insurance have once again shown their support for gender-inclusive, participation-based running education through their contributions to the Kids Run the Nation Fund.

The Academy of Urban Scholars in Youngstown, OH is excited to evolve and expand its successful Walk Wednesday into the Urban Runners running program. Serving grades 9-12 in an urban environment, the school-based program aims to get young people moving while bringing attention to and preventing obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure among participants. Urban Runners will operate each Wednesday throughout the school year.

Introduced by Special Olympics Kansas in 1970, the Inclusive Track program welcomes runners with intellectual disabilities of all ability levels. Runners train year-round to improve their skills and to participate in track and field competitions. Overall, SOKS serves 4,324 athletes throughout all 105 counties in the state.

Longfellow Running Club at Longfellow Spanish Immersion Magnet School in San Diego, CA is a daily gender- and ability-inclusive program that incorporates elements of math, reading, geography, and Social Emotional Learning and promotes school-wide values of kindness, respect, and responsibility among its participants. Each year the program holds Record Breakers Day, which encourages students to do their best to beat their record number of laps completed in one single morning of Running Club.

Year after year the Kids Run the Nation Fund supports programs in communities across the U.S. The following is a complete list of this year’s 41 Kids Run the Nation grant recipients:

Lowell Elementary Running Club – Lowell, AR
Kiwanis Kids Run This Town – Goodyear, AZ
PRIDE Academy at Prospect Running Club – Santee, CA
Allegiance STEAM Academy Running Club – Chino, CA
OMG Youth Run Club – Los Angeles, CA
Longfellow Running Club – San Diego, CA
Run Club – San Bernardino, CA
Crafton Cougar Running Club – Redlands, CA
Dragon Wings Run Club – Broomfield, CO
Heathrow Elementary School Runners Club – Lake Mary, FL
Powerful Leadership Run – Coral Springs, FL
Stonewall Tell Elementary School Track Program – College Park, GA
Runsboro – Jonesboro, GA
BlazeSports Track & Field Program – Norcross, GA
QKS Dolphin Running Club – Honolulu, HI
Brownsburg Community Schools Elementary Running Clubs – Brownsburg, IN
Inclusive Track – Mission, KS
VSL Running Club – Louisville, KY
Special Olympics Track and Field – Covington, LA
Boston Youth Running Initiative – Jamaica Plain, MA
Dreamfar High School Marathon, Inc. – Newton, MA
Junior Bulldogs: Cristo Rey High School – Plymouth, MA
Kemptown Running Club – Monrovia, MD
No Surrender Running Club – Grand Rapids, MI
Cary Homeschoolers Running Club – Cary, NC
Eastlawn Elementary School Rub Club – “Make a Move” – Burlington, NC
Nashville Cardinals Running Club – Nashville, NC
Omaha Running Club Kids Run the Nation – Omaha, NE
Malta YMCA Runners – Malta, NY
Urban Running – Youngs, OH
Fairbanks Kids Running Club – Marysville, OH
PE Extension Support for Lincoln Park Elementary School – Portland, OR
Temple Emanuel Running Club – Pittsburgh, PA
Greenville Track Club “Rabbits” – Greenville, SC
CRES Running Club – Niederwald, TX
Lourdes Running Club – Richmond, VA
Caroline Middle School Running Club – Milford, VA
Reston Runners Youth in Motion – Herndon, VA
Kids On The Move – Richmond, VA
Fit For Bloomsday…Fit For Life – Spokane, WA
Run the World – Lakewood, WA

The RRCA will also donate copies of the Program Guide for Teachers, Coaches, and Program Leaders and the Running Guide for Kids booklet to additional programs.

“Every year, we receive applications from youth running programs across the U.S. that are engaging young runners in their communities with creative and innovative programming and events,” noted Erica Gminski, the RRCA’s Youth Programs Manager. “Getting kids started with the sport from a young age helps establish healthy habits and combat childhood obesity. Kids of all ages and abilities are learning and growing in supportive, inclusive environments that allow them to develop a love for the sport, and we are beyond excited to be able to support them.”

About Kids Run the Nation: The Kids Run the Nation program is a gender-inclusive, multi-week, turnkey, youth running program designed to meet the physical activity goals outlined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. A midcourse report issued by the USDA, “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,” outlines clear evidence that bringing physical activity into schools positively impacts youth. Since 2007, the RRCA has provided over $385,000 in small grants to deserving youth running programs around the country through the Kids Run the Nation Fund. The goal of the RRCA’s Kids Run the Nation program is to help establish locally managed youth running programs in every ​school and community across the U.S. 

About the RRCA: The Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest national association of running organizations and runners dedicated to growing the sport since 1958. The RRCA champions the development of community-based running clubs and events that serve runners of all ages and abilities in pursuit of health and competition. The RRCA’s vision is to Empower Everyone to Run. To learn more, visit: www.RRCA.org

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Contact: Erica Gminski

Email:  youthprograms@rrca.org

Phone: 703-525-3890