First-Ever JUST RUN® Half Moon Bay 5K To Be Held As Part Of The Half Moon Bay International Marathon
Half Moon Bay, CA – The Half Moon Bay International Marathon (HMBIM) today announced that JUST RUN®, the organization focused on reaching out to schools to promote healthy lifestyles to children and youth originally founded by the Big Sur International Marathon organization, has opened a new chapter on the Coastside. Founded and sponsored by the HMBIM, the JUST RUN, Half Moon Bay Chapter is a free Web-based program designed to assist schools in promoting fitness and healthy lifestyles for children and youth. The program, which was designed by fitness and running experts, promotes running for children in the 2nd to 8th grades, encourages children to explore healthy eating habits and inspires good citizenship at school and at home.
“The Big Sur International Marathon organization has done an amazing job in their creation of the JUST RUN program,” said Eric Vaughan, Executive Director of the Half Moon Bay International Marathon. “By founding the Half Moon Bay chapter, the HMBIM is helping to create a program and make an impact on local youth, which will run throughout the year. We’re very proud to be able to make this happen.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 17% of adolescents in California are now considered obese. This alarming rise in childhood obesity coupled with the growing lack of physical activity in youth, prompted the organizers of the Big Sur International Marathon to create JUST RUN in 2005. To date over 56,850 children have run 1,736,306 miles and have performed 129,861 Just Deeds™. These astonishing numbers have been achieved by the students at 107 schools in 15 states that have formed their own local chapters.
“JUST RUN is an exciting solution that encourages children and youth to get out and run, try new and different healthy fruits and vegetables and be good citizens” said Marie Bernoville-Garnier, the JUST RUN, Half Moon Bay Program Manager. “In fact JUST RUN was honored and given the Gold Medal by Governor Schwarzenegger’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for positively impacting California’s children and youth”.
Students can sign up to participate in the program at their local schools. The students will train to run over a four-week schedule with the help of Site Coordinators (coaches) organized by JUST RUN and parent volunteers.
"In just a few years JUST RUN has moved impressively ahead of the pack and is our best example of a thriving program by every measure - participants enjoy it, parents and teachers see the benefits, school districts can afford it, and the impact on youth fitness can be measured, said Basil Honikman, former CEO, Running USA.
The HMBIM has renamed its free family 5k, which it sponsors each year for runners of all ages, to be the “JUST RUN HMB 5k”, and will be held on Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 7:30 a.m. More information about the new JUST RUN, Half Moon Bay Chapter can be found at https://www.halfmoonbayim.org/justrun.
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About the Half Moon Bay International Marathon:
Featuring "26.2 Miles of Running Heaven", the Half Moon Bay International Marathon (HMBIM) was founded in 2011 to showcase the unique beauty of the California coast along with some of the best weather a marathon athlete could ever hope for. The inaugural event in 2011 featured athletes from 25 states and 4 countries and sold out in two months despite very little promotion, and doubled in size in 2012 with athletes from 37 states and 6 countries. An official Boston Qualifier event sanctioned by the USA Track and Field organization, the HMBIM also focuses on creating an eco-friendly event to consider the precious coastal community and worked to attain official status with the Council for Responsible Sport, receiving the coveted Gold Certification from this organization in the Event's very first year. The HMBIM features a full and half marathon and a free JUST RUN 5k event, all on the same day.