Get in on the fun! Registration for the MCM Healthy Kids Fun Run presented by The Washington Post is still open and children ages 6-13 are invited to participate for just $2.  The Healthy Kids Fun Run will be held on Saturday, October 27 at its new location, the North Pentagon parking lot in Arlington, Virginia beginning at noon.  All runners must be registered and pay the entry fee by October 19.   Participants will receive a t-shirt, goodie bag, medal and snacks at the finish line.   Runner hospitality is provided by Sodexho.

The Healthy Kids Fun Run presented by The Washington Post will be held at a new location.  Children, grouped by age, will join Miles, the MCM mascot, and uniformed Marines at the start line before running a one-mile up and back on the course along Boundary Channel Drive near the North Pentagon parking lot in Arlington, VA.  Check out the new, interactive course map.

Starting at 9:30 a.m. and continuing until 2:00 p.m., families are invited to Camp Miles, an activity area featuring interactive challenges, live entertainment, giveaways and games focusing on health and fitness.  This year, Fit Arlington hosts a moon bounce and other active challenges to keep families moving.  Kids won’t want to miss the fun at the National Children’s Museum booth or the free eye exams from VSP, plus exercise demonstrations, and McDonald’s apple dippers!

Kids Run participants will be required to obtain their t-shirt and bib at the MCM Health and Fitness Expo at the DC Armory on Thursday and Friday, or on race morning beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the North Pentagon parking lot.  Families are encouraged to avoid long lines on race morning at Packet Pick-up by attending the Expo on Thursday, October 25 between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. or Friday, October 26 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. for Packet Pick-up.  A Saturday morning shuttle between the Healthy Kids Fun Run events and the Health and Fitness Expo will be available.

Parents and children are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Campaign.

The 2007 Healthy Kids Fun Run will begin at 11:45 a.m. with a pre-race warm up.  The RED wave, children ages 10 through 13, will start the race at 12:00 p.m.  The WHITE wave, children ages 8 and 9, will take their mark fifteen minutes later, at 12:15 p.m. Finally, the BLUE wave, children ages 6 and 7, will take off at 12:30 p.m.

Post- race, children will be assisted by Marines to meet up with their families in the appropriate Link-Up Area, designated by the color of the child’s bib.

Parents are reminded to pin the bib to the front of their participant’s shirt and fill out the safety and contact information on the reverse of the bib. 

Want to support your school’s PE program?   Now is the time to get your child’s school involved in the MCM Healthy Kids Fun Run presented by The Washington Post (HKFR).   Simply register for the HKFR and fill in the participant’s school. The school with the most participants will win the Healthy School Award and a financial donation to the physical education department from Washington FAMILY Magazine. NEW IN '07: The Healthy School Award will be presented to schools in two categories: The top large school (enrollment of 400 or more students) and the top small school (enrollment under 400 students).

The award and donation will be given in a presentation to each school by the MCM staff and special guests. Parents, students and faculty are encouraged to promote participation and the importance of physical fitness within their schools.

Read the Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Series each month in Washington FAMILY Magazine. Focusing on health and fitness for children, the articles feature a wide range of topics ranging from healthy food for child athletes to choosing a team sport to healthy gift ideas.  Pick up your free copy of Washington FAMILY Magazine at a variety of locations.

A recent excerpt from the Healthy Kids Series of Washington FAMILY Magazine:

While getting children excited about healthy eating and physical activity from an early age is the best defense against obesity, those who are already categorized as overweight or obese still have plenty of time to get healthy. Experts agree the best results come from making changes one at a time as a family. Begin with the creation of a healthy home environment:

• Clean out the sugary drinks and snacks. Replace them with fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy options.
• Prepare healthful meals and snacks as a family. Local libraries and bookstores have a wide variety of cookbooks designed for a healthful eating. Also check out a searchable online database like cookinglight.com for healthy, family-friendly recipes.
• Don’t deprive children of their favorite foods. Instead, teach children about portion control. Many companies now offer 100-calorie or less snack packs of kid favorites like Chips Ahoy cookies and Cheese Nips crackers.
• Get active together. Enjoy long hours of daylight with an after-dinner bike ride or a family game of touch-football.
• Set fitness goals for each member of the family. Mom or Dad might choose to set their sights on a running event like the Marine Corps Marathon 10K. Kids can take on their own challenge of the one-mile Healthy Kids Fun Run.

Whether it means adding a little extra exercise to an already active day or gradually adding more vegetables to family meals, little changes in habits can make a child and family healthy for a lifetime.

Sponsors of the Healthy Kids Fun Run are excited to be a part of race day!

“FAMILY Magazine is extremely proud to be a part of the Healthy Kids Fun Run,” said Brenda Hyde, publisher of The FAMILY Magazine. “Helping parents provide a healthy environment for their children has always been important to us.  Supporting an active lifestyle with our children is more important now than it ever has been.”

“Participation with the Marine Corps Marathon’s Healthy Kid’s Fun Run is a great way for Navy Federal employees, friends, and family members to connect with the community during an event that focuses on the importance of physical activity,” said Keasha Lee, Public Relations Specialist for Navy Federal Credit Union. “The best part about the Fun Run is that it shows how enjoyable exercise can be through an experience that children and their parents can appreciate.  We like to bring our Navy Federal Mascot, Sammie the Sea Otter, to participate in the mascot race.” 

Sodexho nutritionist, Tina Reddington RD, LD shares these kid-friendly, healthy recipes for parents and kids to prepare together.

CANDLE SALAD
(A quick fruit salad kids can help make!)

You’ll need: lettuce leaves, washed pineapple slices, bananas (sliced in half, through the middle), and cherries, or any red fruit

Directions:

• On a salad plate, cover the plate with the lettuce leaves.
  Place the pineapple slices on the lettuce (you decide how many candles you want to make).
• Stand the bananas in the pineapple holes, rounded end up.
• Press a cherry (or red fruit) on top of each banana for the candle flame.

NO BAKE FUDGE COOKIES
(These cookies are flourless and high in protein! This recipe contains products with peanuts children with peanut allergies may substitute soy butter or other thick butter spreads in place of the peanut butter!)

You’ll need: Cocoa, margarine, milk, quick cook oatmeal, peanut butter and vanilla

Directions:

• Mix together in a saucepan:
• 2 heaping TBLSP cocoa
• 4 TBLSP or 1/2 stick margarine
• 1/4 cup plus 1 TBLSP milk (any kind)
• Bring to a boil and boil for one minute.
• Remove from burner and add:
• 1 1/2 cups quick oatmeal
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 TBLSP vanilla
• Stir. Drop on wax paper until cool and Eat!!