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Lowellville coach starts running series in Youngstown
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Stephanie Yon of Lowellville plays with her 4-year-old son, Steven, at the Wick Recreation Area in Mill Creek Park. Earlier this week, the recreation area was the site of the first installment of the Healthy Kids Running Series, which will continue Sunday. Yon is responsible for bringing the series to Youngstown.
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
LOWELLVILLE
Stephanie Yon just wants to get people moving.
And she’s beginning with kids.
“If you start when you’re young, you don’t look at exercise as punishment,” said Yon, a longtime village resident who has headed several fitness programs there and also coaches cross-country at the high school.
A few months ago, while looking for a marathon in which to take part, Yon came across the Healthy Kids Running Series. According to its website, the five-week running program in the spring and fall is intended to “motivate kids to be healthy and active and provide a fun environment to improve their self- esteem.”
Yon immediately knew she had to bring the series to the Youngstown area. In Ohio, the only other locations were Canton and Greenville.
So far, it’s been successful, said Yon, 36. Last Sunday’s events at the Wick Recreation Area in Mill Creek Park, 1861 McCollum Road in Youngstown, drew about 40 participants. The series will continue from 4 to 5 p.m. Sunday, and also Oct. 5, 12 and 19 at Wick Recreation Area.
Children as young as preschool and as old as eighth grade can participate in the age-appropriate running events, which remain consistent from week to week, Yon added.
Members of the pre-K division race in a 50-yard dash, while kindergartners and first-graders run a quarter-mile; second- and third-graders run a half-mile; and fourth- and fifth-graders, along with middle-schoolers, run a full mile.
Participants earn points based upon their finish in each week’s race. At the end of the series, the boy and girl with the most points in each division will receive a trophy, while all participants will receive medals.
The cost is $35 for the series, or $12 per race.
Tamara Virtue, director of the Healthy Kids Running Series, which is based near Philadelphia, said the program has grown exponentially since its start in 2009. It now boasts more than 60 locations in 17 states, and Virtue is hopeful the number of locations will grow to 100 by the spring.
She’d also like to see the program expand not only to every state in the U.S., but also to countries across the world.
All children can benefit from “being outside and doing something, as opposed to sitting on a phone and playing games,” Virtue noted. She added the running series is meant to show children that being active is fun, and tries to ensure that children are excited about coming back, week after week, for the events.
“We describe it as ‘a party once a week,’” she said.
As for Yon, she’s looking forward to sharing with others the activity she began doing only about four years ago, but quickly became passionate about.
“I like everything about running — the peace it brings you, the feeling like you accomplished something,” Yon said. “I just want to get the word out ... to get people up and moving.”