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School club makes a run at fitness

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2009

WESTCHASE - As Elisa Cimmino rounded the corner, she could see the final Popsicle stick she needed. Huffing past her teacher, the 10-year-old grabbed the stick and kept running, completing her final lap.

Twice a week, the fifth-grader joins classmates from Bryant Elementary in the school's new running club.

Teacher Lois Shell started the club to give students another outlet to physical fitness and exposure to running.

"There really aren't many opportunities to get elementary students into running," she said. "Then I saw a similar program near Orlando and knew it would be great for our kids."

About 150 students participate in the program. Students meet twice a week after school and run laps in the school's back field. Every lap they complete, they receive a Popsicle stick. Six Popsicle sticks equal a mile. For every five miles, the students receive a charm.

As of Oct. 5, the students had completed 10,071 laps, about 1,678 miles.

Fifth-grader Taylor Williams said she has developed a love for running.

"I didn't really do it before the club," she said. "But now I really like it and want to do more running at home."

Michele Sager

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