Clarion RiverCats and Kids of Steel to Host Kids Marathon

Photo submitted

(By Coach Keith Murtha)

Hello running community, my name is Keith Murtha and I am the Head Cross Country and Boys Track & Field Coach. I also serve as PIAA & USATF Official. I am a USATF certified coach and race director. By day, I teach Health, Physical Education and Sports Science at Clarion Area High School. With some faithful assistants, I run the Clarion RiverCats Running Club, a Kids of Steel site!

Kids of STEEL is P3R’s award winning free training program that helps motivate kids and their families to get moving. The program is available to individuals and at more than 200 schools in western Pennsylvania. In addition to the Kids of STEEL program, P3R keeps kids of all ages moving through races for every age, resources, opportunities and support of running clubs and teams.

The RiverCats along with P3R are so excited to bring you Race in a Box, so we can offer a kids marathon/5K up here as a northwest extension of P3R in Pittsburgh! Race in a box provides your club everything you need to host a race with all the same amenities of the Pittsburgh Marathon weekend. Everyone who registers for the kids marathon & 5K will receive a Pittsburgh marathon race shirt, race bib and medal!

P3R will be on hand to assist with the event and will bring their inflatable arch to make crossing that finish line extra special! We are hoping to get a couple hundred elementary & middle schoolers to participate from around the area! This is a great family event, walk and run together! The kids marathon is open to kids 13 and under. Parents are allowed & encouraged to run with their kids. The UPMC Sports Medicine 5K is a community event open to everyone.

The Race will be held Friday May 10th with a 5:00 PM Start. The Race will begin and end at Clarion Area High School on Liberty Street

At the Clarion Area schools, elementary & middleschoolers will be preparing for the marathon by completing 25 miles of training through their physical education classes, sports practices and other activities. We have all you need to prepare, be active and be part of the nation’s largest kids marathon. Lots of resources available at our RiverCats website https://sites.google.com/clarion-schools.com/clarion-rivercats-running-club/home

Get in on the ground level! If you have any questions not answered below please reach out out me at kmurtha@clarion-schools.com

(Register Now For This Big Race!!!! Thanks to Coach Murtha for this article!!)