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. 

Parents and runners are invited to visit Camp Miles, the post-run activity area featuring giveaways, interactive challenges and games focusing on health and fitness hosted by the National Children’s Museum, beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Activities include free eye exams from VSP, the ABC7/WJLA weather truck, sign making with USAA, a prize wheel, and inflatable games including a 44-foot Obstacle Course, ring toss, face painting, balloon animals, ring toss and more, provided by FitArlington, and the Fun Bus, a full sized school bus that is used to enhance learning going on inside the classroom and home, using a hands-on approach to fitness and making it fun. McDonalds will also be giving out juice boxes and apple dippers and children’s nutrition shakes from Max Muscle will be available.

The fun continues throughout the day with a variety of entertainment on the Camp Miles Stage:

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 shuttle between the Healthy Kids Fun Run events and the Health and Fitness Expo will be available. Prior to attending Packet Pick-up, parents of participants will need to download and print the child’s E-confirmation card.

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

Parking is not available at the Healthy Kids Fun Run location.  Nearby parking is available in Pentagon City.  The use of Metro's yellow or blue lines to the Pentagon Station, located near the start of the Healthy Kids Fun Run is highly recommended. Or, take advantage of free shuttles, provided by the MCM, transporting parents, children, and guests from the Health and Fitness Expo at the DC Armory to Pentagon North parking lot to the Healthy Kids Fun Run and the associated activities from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. Plenty of free parking is available at the DC Armory and shuttles will pick up passengers near the main entrance. Buses headed to this event will have LED screens that read "Healthy Kids Fun Run."

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.  Before dropping children off in the appropriate corral (based on the color of the child’s bib), parents should retain the Kid Claim coupon from the child’s bib.  This will assist parents in retrieving their children after the run.

The 2007 Healthy Kids Fun Run will begin at 11:45 a.m. with a pre-race warm up. Kids will be escorted to the adult-free corrals, located in Lady Bird Johnson Park, where they will be grouped by age and taken through warm-ups with the Marines.  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. Remember the Kid Claim coupon?  Parents are asked to show the coupon matching the child’s bib to a Marine before their child exits the link up area.

Want to be the next recipient of the MCM Healthy School Award? 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 their 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.

Miles challenged his friends to their own fun run, prior to the start of the Healthy Kids Fun Run. Check out the competitors:

Miles Marine Corps Marathon	Gunston George Mason University	Hero Navy Federal
Lift-Off Sodexho	Ned the Newshound Washington Post	Screech Washington Nationals
Slapshot Washington Capitols	Talon DC United	Uncle Sam Potomac Nationals