Kids Expo
The Kids Expo presented by Iowa Kidstrong features fitness and nutrition carnival-style games with prizes provided by various organizations including the Iowa Sports Foundation, American Heart Association, the Science Center of Iowa, Employee & Family Resources, Hy-Vee, the Iowa Department of Public Health, Midwest Dairy, Iowa Kidstrong, the IMT Des Moines Marathon, Cowles Montessori School, and others.
The goal is to offer activities that inspire children to engage in healthy lifestyle habits by exposing them to a variety of recreational opportunities. Various displays and hands-on activities will focus on health, wellnes, while providing a fun and festive family activity environment. The Kids Expo presented by Iowa Kidstrong is free and open to the public.
The Kids Expo presented by Iowa Kidstrong takes place within the Scheels Sports & Fitness Expo.
Saturday, October 19 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Hy-Vee Hall is located in the Iowa Events Center | 730 3rd Street | Des Moines, IA 50309
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Iowa Kidstrong
The focus of Iowa Kidstrong is on elementary school initiatives designed to promote healthy lifestyles for kids and establish a foundation for lifelong health habits at an early and impressionable age. We know children’s understanding and attitudes toward physical activity play a large role in how physically active they are or are likely to be.
The feature program of Iowa Kidstrong, KidStriders, provides user-friendly strategies to create school environments that promote physical activity in a noncompetitive manner and work toward changing the behavior of children as incentive-based programs. Accessibility to success in setting and achieving program goals for as many students as possible is the key to making “motorless motion” desirable and therefore habit-forming.
Iowa Kidstrong is excited about our partnership with the IMT Des Moines Marathon and our collaborative effort to promote running as a lifestyle activity to children. In light of this partnership and our mission-driven efforts, Iowa Kidstrong looks forward to introducing…
See-Us Run Des Moines
See-Us Run Des Moines is an innovative intervention program that challenges teens to train for and complete a 26.2 mile marathon. It is school-centered, noncompetitive, and lasts a minimum of 25 weeks. See-Us Run Des Moines relies on a corps of caring and dedicated adult volunteers to run with the students forming a unique bond that brings many rewards to both parties. It features a progressive training schedule taking participating students from mile zero all the way through completion of the IMT Des Moines Marathon in October.
The training program is designed to do so in the least overwhelming way possible. During the training season, the students commit to train three times a week at their school or at designated locations in Des Moines, and on the weekend they come together along with the adult volunteers for a longer run in area neighborhoods and on local trails. Along the way, students will participate in races around the community of varying distances building toward the marathon, giving them experience with running events, keeping them engaged in the program, and giving them the opportunity to interact with others in a positive way.
Age Appropriate Running
Slightly older children still interested in participating in a running event on marathon weekend may be ready to enter in the Principal Financial Group 5K Road Race as a run/walk participant with a parent or adult guardian. Children between the ages of twelve and fourteen may even consider training for the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon. We do encourage safe and proper training for any of our running events and that anyone before beginning an exercise program that you consult a physician or other qualified health professional.
The Road Runners Club of America does not recommend for a child younger than the age of fourteen to attempt completing a long distance running event such as the IMT Des Moines Marathon. Their bodies are not developed enough physically to meet the demands of this level of strenuous activity and endurance. Examples may include leg muscle development and electrolyte replacement.
Road Runners Club of America - Fundamentals of Youth Running
Should Kids Run Long? - Running Times
Youth Running - How Old Should You be to Run a Marathon? - Coach Dean Hebert
Risks in Distance Running for Young Children - American Academy of Pediatrics
PhysEd - Should Children Run Marathons - New York Times (blog with comments)
   
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