- Rab Vapour-Rise™ Summit Jacket - 11/27/2023
- EXPION360 PORTABLE POWER - 11/27/2023
- Gift Giving Idea: Sail the Monterey Bay - 11/27/2023
Estimated 3.7 million young Americans participate in organized youth running program activities annually
Press Releaseย // January 13, 2016 โย There is much data available about the number of adult runners who participate in organized events each year, with Running USA as a dominant source. But when it comes to the nationโs youngest runners, quantifiable tracking is much harder to achieve.
In 2015, the Big Sur Marathon organization (BSIM) set out to change and improve that data set by conducting a Youth Running Program Survey. The survey focused on the number of school-based childrenโs running programs around the country, how many kids participate, what each program costs, and more. BSIM is a founding member of Running USA and also oversees the Just Run program, a nationwide, school-based running program that was named the Running USA National Youth Program of the Year in 2015.
โWeโve been involved in youth running for many years, and created our JUST RUN program 12 years ago. We think we are very knowledgeable on this subject, but did learn a lot from the survey,โ said Mike Dove, a longtime volunteer for BSIM who focuses on youth programming. โWe had absolutely no idea what to expect as to how many children were involved in organized school-based programs.โ
The survey, which individually targeted every school-based youth program the BSIM team could find, came up with a participation estimate of 3.7 million young Americans participating in organized youth running program activities annually. For the programs that did not respond with their participation data, the BSIM team made an educated estimate of youth involved.
While that number may seem large at first glance, Dove believes it should be larger, and points to the total number of K through 12th grade school studentsโ 54 million โ as an indicator that โwe have barely scratched the surface.โ
Another interesting result of the survey was how many running programs operate primarily on a regional or local level. This is especially true for โFinal Mileโ childrenโs programs, in which kids train to run the last mile of a local marathon or other major community race.
โAs you look at the data, only five of the programs that responded are active in more than 10 states,โ said Dove. โEven adding the few that didnโt participate in the survey, there are not all that many national programs.โ The five responding include the Fitness Finder Mileage Club, Kids Run the Nation, Mighty Milers, Just Run, and the Mini Mermaid Running Club.
Doug Thurston, Executive Director of BSIM, reacted to the data as well.
โYou would think that virtually every running club and every major race organization would have some sort of school-based program, if nothing else, for audience development. And you would think that the members of community running clubs would want to get their kids involved in an organized program because they already recognize the benefits of the sport,โ Thurston said. He sees the survey as a resource for those looking to learn more about youth running opportunities, or to find a program in their area.
The BSIM team hopes to encourage further conversation among the organizers and managers of youth running initiatives, so that best practices can be exchanged and collaboration achieved. They attend Running USAโs annual industry conference each year, and have considered hosting a meeting for attendees with a focused interest on youth programming.
โWe wanted to create a comprehensive list of programs and contacts and websites for each program. If you look at the survey, theyโre all linked to their website. If somebody looks at the report, they can click to learn more about each program,โ Dove said.