Run, students, run!

Peer leaders:
A group of eighth-grade students, who were chosen as leaders by their peers, volunteer their time to keep track of how much students run in the Evergreen Elementary School Mileage Club.

Thanks to mentor students from Evergreen Middle School, and a little bit of recognition, Evergreen Elementary students are making a lot of ground with their physical fitness.

"It's a very neat program the children are volunteering their time to do," said Evergreen physical education teacher Roxane Akers.

Twice a week after eating their lunch, elementary students in the Mileage Club take off running. Meanwhile, a group of students from the middle school have arrived to chart and graph their progress and cheer them on.

"They are really happy to just come out and run around," said eighth-grader Katie Collins.

"Most of them know us, and when we are here they get really excited about it," added Evergreen Middle School Emily Hartman.

The Middle School students responsible for keeping track of the Mileage Club are "peer helpers" who have been trained on leadership skills.

"Our school had a vote for who they wanted as a leader, and all of us were chosen for the eighth grade," Hartman explained.

The Mileage Club was first started as a way to improve elementary school students' physical fitness.

"We tried to figure out what would make it fun for students to run," Akers said.

She said the mileage club is a win-win program because students get to interact with leaders from the nearby middle-school, and gain recognition for their efforts.

Mileage club members get their names in the school newsletter and a get certificate to take home to their parents.

But perhaps the most exciting part of the mileage club for the young runners comes from the middle school helpers.

The older students give awards to the young runners when they hit certain landmarks. They get their first award, a chain bracelet, at 5 miles. From there on, mileage club members get charms to put on the bracelet to symbolize how far they've run.

"They get a different type of charm for each goal they make," Akers explained.

The physical education teacher originally made a marathon charm the final charm for the students, when they hit the 26.2 mile mark.

But the students enjoyed the program so much that they have performed beyond her expectations. One student has run more than 50 miles so far.

"The kids have done so well that I had to order more charms," Akers said.