• Susan and Mide holding banner with Five Million Miles above two program participants

    Just Run Program Suspended Until Further Notice

    The Big Sur Marathon Foundation, the major funding source for JUST RUN, has suffered severe financial repercussions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are unable to offer our youth fitness program at this time. The website remains active for informational use and as a physical activity resource. Effective October 1st, email info@bsim.org or call (831) 625-6226 for more info.
  • Just Run Kids and Coaches

    Just Run Program Suspended Until Further Notice

    The Big Sur Marathon Foundation, the major funding source for JUST RUN, has suffered severe financial repercussions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are unable to offer our youth fitness program at this time. The website remains active for informational use and as a physical activity resource. Effective October 1st, email info@bsim.org or call (831) 625-6226 for more info.
  • Kids Stretching, Just Run

    Just Run Program Suspended Until Further Notice

    The Big Sur Marathon Foundation, the major funding source for JUST RUN, has suffered severe financial repercussions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are unable to offer our youth fitness program at this time. The website remains active for informational use and as a physical activity resource. Effective October 1st, email info@bsim.org or call (831) 625-6226 for more info.

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JUST RUN - National Award-Winning Youth Fitness Program

This website-based program assists schools and youth organizations throughout the United States and foreign countries in the promotion of physical activity & healthy lifestyles. Outstanding success! Since the development of JUST RUN in 2005, more than 200,000 children in 43 states have logged over 5,000,000 miles.

Benefits for Children

Benefits for Teachers

  • Combats childhood obesity
  • Promotes pride in accomplishment and life-long positive habits
  • Non-competitive - all children are successful
  • A fun experience for children of all ages
  • Group goal setting
  • Educational through JUST RUN Across the USA/Europe
  • Good citizenship through Just Deeds
  • Healthy eating through Just Taste
  • FREE
  • Easy to implement and turn-key
  • Training, advice, and support provided
  • Excellent resource guide for health-related topics
  • Raises academic and fitness test scores
  • Supplements or fulfills physical activity requirements
  • Improves students' focus and behavior
  • Graduate units (CEUs) available via UOP

 

Testimonials

I have one student in particular that is physically overweight. However, she loves being part of the Just Run activities. During distance running at the beginning she would be the last one to complete her laps. I began walking and jogging with her to keep her motivated; she began picking up her pace. One of my favorite moments during this program was when most of the class had completed their distance running laps and we were waiting on her to complete her last lap. As she had a quarter of a lap left, all of my students began chanting her name and she picked up her pace and sprinted to the finish line. The look on her face as she finished her last lap was priceless, she looked so happy. I was so proud of her and my students for being positive and cheerful.
 

Cristina C. Fremont 2nd Grade Teacher

Our Sponsors

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    to our generous sponsors

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    to our generous sponsors

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    to our generous sponsors

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JUST RUN Tip

Bulletin Boards - La Mesa School

"We havae done some ladder runs where each group runs in a line and they take turns going from the back to the front of the group to set the pace. Every other week they like to JUST RUN the course to see how fast they can go. With the younger kids we do some red light, green light, orange light drills so they can learn pace a bit better. They tend to know their own limitations and slow down and speed up as they feel. We have found that when we tell them not to stop until they reach a cone marker, that helps their endurance as they often go a bit further when they feel like stopping.

The coordinator at our school created  a JUST RUN bulletin board, located in a prominent location in the main hallway. A map of the United States shows how far we have run on our trip to the east coast. Pictures of some of our runners and words of encouragement are also on the board.

Course: The moms measured and layed out a half-mile course around La Mesa's school yard and put out cones to mark every 10th of a mile.

Separating into Groups: There are children from kindergarten up through 6th grade and at the first session, based on ability, there were 4 running groups formed. They are mostly based on age but there are some younger kids that run with and keep up with faster groups.

Stretching and warm up: Each session is started with a group stretching session for warm-up. A child is selected to begin each session with his or her favorite warm-up.

Another teacher printed off JUST RUN mileage markers from the website for 25, 50, 75, and 100 miles and attached them to colorful paper. These were posted on her classroom door along with the lists of children who achieved these mileage goals. This was a great motivator and gave recognition to all of the children who reached these mileage accomplishments."
 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get started?
Do we need to pay a fee to register for the program?
Can I register at any time or only at the beginning of the school year?
My school cannot afford to buy incentives. How should we award the kids?
What are JUST RUN Chapters?

NYSS Champion

NYSS Champion badge

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pleased to recognize Just Run as one of the first organizations to join the National Youth Sports Strategy (NYSS) Champion program. As an NYSS Champion, Just Run has demonstrated their organization’s support of youth sports and commitment to the NYSS vision. Just Run will be recognized along with other NYSS Champions on health.gov as part of a growing network of organizations partnering with HHS to improve the youth sports landscape.

JUST RUN Drill

Sample Warm Up Drills

It is very important to warm up the body before running or walking or doing any sports activity. Here are some sample warm up drills: Remember - no bouncing without warming up first.

  • Reach for the Stars - Stand straight and tall and reach as high as you can 5 times with each arm.
  • Sunflower - form a sunflower (circle) with arms over head and open and bend like a squat while reaching for the ground - then back up again - 5 times.
  • Volcano - make whooshing sounds as you bend down and reach for the ground - then stand up straight and tall and reach for the sky.
  • Shake it up - Shake the hands and feet at the same time for a minute.
  • Gentle Jumping Jacks - Jump gently with feet apart and hands reaching over head.
  • High Knee Running in place - Start slowly then move legs faster and higher while running in place.

Proud Partner with the Active School Movement

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Sign up to become a champion to increase physical education and physical activity in our nation's schools.