MIDDLETOWN — Earlier this year, John XXIII Elementary School parents Cathi and Jay Evans developed a youth fitness program that targets the body and soul. Mile By Mile’s mission is to show kids that, by serving themselves, they also serve their community and their world. 

The Mile by Mile program inaugural project was the Cincinnati Flying Pig’s Kids Marathon. Beginning Feb. 1, kids in kindergarten through sixth grades began running or walking a full marathon (26.2 miles) in small increments to “train” for the “Final Mile” event

Fifteen students ran the “final mile” on May 1 with 3,000 other participants at the actual Flying Pig Marathon course and the finish line was the same used by the main event runners. In spite of the rainy weather, almost all of the students were able to run the entire mile without stopping.

“Many of these kids had never really run before,” said Cathi Evans. “To see where they started and where they ended was incredible.”

The students who participated in Mile By Mile are: Adam Clark, Elena Daly, Kelsey Daly, Riley Eiken, Will Eiken, Hope Evans, Lorien Evans, Elise Fossum, Morgan Guyler, Isabelle Hamilton, John King, Lily Knaley, Claire Puthoff, George Puthoff, Iris Puthoff and Ethan Tyla. 

In addition to building their physical stamina, the students worked to help others in the community by raising more than $1,700 money for the benefit of Shared Harvest Foodbank and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital by getting sponsors for each mile they ran during training. 

Evans said the activity brought families together for two good causes: helping the needy and building the foundation for a more active lifestyle.

“Parents would come out and either run or walk with the kids,” Evans said. “This is something they can take with them and do together well beyond this one event.”

Evans said she and her husband intend to keep the program going during the next school year, possibly expanding it to include walking and biking.

“It doesn’t matter how they move,” she said. “It’s all about encouraging the children and their families to get and keep moving, as well build an awareness to help others in the community.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or mrossiter@coxohio.com.