PITTSBURGH, PA – The USA Track & Field Foundation, in partnership with Marathon Kids and GNC Live Well, presented the Run With US! program to two schools within the Chartiers Valley School District this past weekend, announced USATF Foundation Executive Director Tom Jackovic and Chairman Bob Greifeld.
The event featured a presentation from Run With US! athlete-mentors, professional runners and USATF Foundation grantees, Bobby Curtis and Waverly Neer. Chartiers Valley Intermediate School as well as the Chartiers Valley Primary School were the lucky recipients of the program activation.
This instance of Run With US! at Marathon Kids was extra special, serving as a pep rally for all the children who participate in the Marathon Kids program. These young athletes were preparing to run the Toyota Pittsburgh Kids Marathon the following day as part of the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend. The children had been training for the Toyota Pittsburgh Kids Marathon for five months and to pump the kids up for the race on Saturday, the USATF Foundation enlisted their elite runners to serve as inspiration. Curtis and Neer shared race tips and tricks as well as imperative stretching examples and strategy.
“The students at the Chartiers Valley Primary and Intermediate schools have been training weekly since January for the mile run at the Toyota Pittsburgh Kids Marathon. The pep rally and visit from Bobby Curtis and Waverly Neer was a great ending to the program. The kids loved listening to the runners an
d running along with the Run With US! mobile app. The runners gave the students helpful advice and motivation. The kids did an awesome job at the race,” stated Shelley Territ, First Grade Teacher and Marathon Kids Coach at Chartiers Valley Primary School.
In addition to Curtis and Neer presenting information about race day strategies they also focused on the importance of setting goals and making positive choices throughout life. The event climaxed with the introduction of the USATF Foundation’s Run With US! mobile app exer-game. The app features USATF Foundation grantees guiding players through a track & field course where you physically have to run and jump with your device to advance.
The USATF Foundation provides a means to attract and guide funds to new and innovative track and field programs with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth athletes, emerging elite athletes, and distance training centers. The Foundation depends upon donations from its Board of Directors, major gifts, and from generous fans of track & field.
Elite athletes are supported by the Foundation via monetary grants and participation in Run with US! (www.runwithus.org). Youth athletes are supported via monetary grants to youth clubs.
For more information, or to contribute to the USA Track & Field Foundation, visit www.usatffoundation.org or contact Tom Jackovic at (412) 398-2484 or tom.jackovic@usatf.org.