Register for the annual Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run, to be held on Saturday, October 28, 2006 at 8 a.m. in front of the DC Armory and MCM Heath and Fitness Expo. The race field for the one-mile run is open to children between the ages of 6-13. Pre-registration, including the $7 entry fee, is required by October 19. Participants will receive a t-shirt, finisher’s medal and snacks at the finish line. The new Healthy Kids Fun Run one-mile loop course begins and ends in front of the DC Armory. The Healthy Kids Fun Run is presented by The Washington Post and sponsored by Sodexho, FAMILY Magazine, Big Dogs, The Washington Post, VSP.com, ABC 7 WJLA, McDonald’s, Lincoln Property Company, and Navy Federal Credit Union.

Kids Run participants may obtain their t-shirt and bib at the MCM Health and Fitness Expo presented by Caremark at the DC Armory on Friday, October 27 or on race morning beginning at 6 a.m.   Please note:  Families are encouraged to avoid long lines and receive a free MCM bobblehead doll by attending the Expo on Friday, October 27 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

As part of the event’s on-going goodwill, parents and children are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate at the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots booth.

Kids Run participants and their families are encouraged to take Metro to the DC Armory for Packet Pick-up at the Expo and race day festivities.  The Orange and Blue metro lines take runners directly to the DC Armory station, just a few yards from the Healthy Kids Fun Run start and finish line activities.  Metro opens at 5 a.m. on Friday, October 27 and 7 a.m. on Saturday, October 28.  Visit www.wmata.com for more information including fare rates and schedule details.  Should you decide to drive, free parking is available in RFK parking lots. 

After a great run that concludes with the children receiving a participant’s medal, participants in the Healthy Kids Fun Run will be treated to healthy snacks, packed in a Sodexho USA School Services bag. Inside, kids will find a Crustables peanut butter and jelly sandwich from Smuckers (a grilled cheese alternate is also available), a cereal bar from General Mills, Frito Lay Sun Chips, Kraft Capri All Natural Fruit Juice and a piece of fresh fruit.

With replenishment in hand, children and their families will visit the tent adjacent to the finish area called ‘Camp Miles’.  The post-race activity area features:

• Interactive challenges and games focusing on health and fitness hosted by the National Children’s Museum
• Apple Dipper snacks from McDonalds
• ABC 7/ WJLA weather truck
• Big Dogs temporary tattoo booth
• Vision drills hosted VSP for children to get focused on healthy vision
• Fun with Family Magazine
• Plus, music, mascots and more!

Here’s a schedule of events for all the race day fun!
7:45 a.m.  Pre-Run Opening Ceremonies and Warm Ups
8:20 a.m.  Red Wave Start (12-13 year olds)
8:35 a.m.  White Wave Start (10-11 year olds)
8:50 a.m.  Blue Wave Start (8-9 year olds)
9:10 a.m.  Gold Wave Start (6-7 year olds)

Help children train for the Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run by creating healthy habits with exercise AND diet.  Often, young children are known for their picky eating and parents question how to give them proper nutrition.  Here are some tips for dealing with picky eaters from the August 2006 Washington FAMILY magazine Healthy Kids series:

• Children are more sensitive to tastes- preferring sweet and mild to bitter, spicy or sour flavors. Temperature and texture of foods may also cause children’s pickiness- frozen foods tend to be embraced; hot foods are shunned, and moist foods are better received than dry ones.
• Many children use eating as a way of expressing independence. They can’t control most aspects of their lives, but they can control what they put in their mouth. Allow them to exert this control by asking for their input on meals and snacks. However, help them make decisions in a controlled manner. Instead of asking an open ended question about what they would like for a snack, try giving children a choice between two healthy foods (would you like a carrot sticks or a banana?)
• Allow children to help with the shopping and dinner preparation. While they may not be able to readily identify a food they like, it is easier to point it out in the store or refrigerator.

• Have a ‘new food night’ each week. Rotate which family member chooses the new food for everyone to try.
• Offer foods repeatedly over time. One study suggests a child must be exposed to a new food as many as 15 times before they will be willing to try it.
• For children who won’t readily put anything healthy on their plate, insist they take one bite of a new food, and if they don’t like it, praise their willingness to try a new thing and move on.
• Make food fun by using cookie cutters to create fun shapes for sandwiches.

Remember for most children, picky eating is a phase and they will grow out of it.  Whether it’s a new-found dislike for foods of a certain color, or a specific meal a child just won’t touch, the best thing parents can do is offer a child healthy choices. 

Want to be the next recipient of the MCM Healthy School Award? Now is the time to get your child’s school involved by motivating other parents, the PE teachers, the principal and the PTA to register their children for the MCM Healthy Kids Fun Run and listing your school the appropriate registration field.  After the one-mile event on October 28, results will be tallied. 

The school with the most participants will win the Healthy School award and a financial donation to its physical education department from Washington FAMILY magazine.  The award and donation will be given to the school in a presentation by the MCM staff and special guests.  Parents, students and faculty are encouraged to promote participation and the importance of physical fitness at home and in the classroom. For more information and ideas, click here.

Join Miles, the Marine Corps Marathon mascot, as he travels the marathon course from the start of the race to the finish line, and all points in between, in this beautifully illustrated hardcover children's book.  Take a tour of Washington, D.C. with “The People's Marathon" and learn about the monuments, the race and the importance of staying physically fit. This is a great read for kids, parents and grandparents. To order, visit www.mascotbooks.com.

Kids learn best when the lessons are fun and interactive.  That’s why VSP, the nation’s largest provider of eye health benefits, uses sport events to let kids experience first-hand how vision impacts their athletic performance.

As a sponsor of the MCM Healthy Kids Fun Run, VSP doctors will be on hand to conduct fun activities that help kids understand the importance of good vision.

Kids will wear special goggles to learn how distorted vision affects athletic ability, and doctors will demonstrate eye-strengthening exercises.

Undetected vision problems can hinder a child's success in school and sports. A child does not understand that their view of the world is not necessarily the way others see. A complete eye exam from an eye doctor is the only sure way to know if a child is seeing clearly.

One in four school-age children has a vision problem, yet less than one in seven children receive a comprehensive eye exam before entering school.

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), children should receive their first eye exam by the age of one, with complete exams at age three, five, and every two years during school.

Adults also need regular eye exams and in many cases eye protection when playing sports, or when involved in home or work activities that pose a threat to the eye. Computer eyestrain is a growing problem for all ages. After the age of 40, most people start losing visual acuity for near focus and require reading glasses.

Lift-Off!’s favorite color is blue and loves the song When You Wish Upon A Star.  At 6 feet 6 inches tall, Lift-Off! loves star-gazing and astronomy and of course, stays in great shape by running. Life-Off! uses MCM Healthy Kids Fun Run as his training goal each year to keep him motivated!

Born on March 1, 2004 in Gaithersburg, MD, Lift-Off! was first introduced as part of Sodexho’s School Stars program.  School Stars is an exciting nutrition education program that introduces elementary students to the fun and simple ways they can eat healthy, nutritious foods at every meal.

Starring Lift Off!, the School Stars Champion, the program takes students on a journey to a healthy lifestyle with awesome activity sheets and narratives that rhyme!  Lift-Off! helps children learn about the foods they should eat to have the most star power. His favorites include start fruit and broccoli. Lift-Off! is a great “star” friend who always encourages children to be the best they can be?  With the spirit of a child, Lift-Off! is truly a likable “School Star” classmate, always encouraging children to do their best.