Kids Going To Disneyland On Foot Students Chart Their Laps In Training In Mileage

They’ve gone through Pullman and Portland.

On Friday, they made it past Eugene.

About 100 students at Bemiss Elementary are collectively running 1,400 miles. Their goal? To run the distance to Disneyland.

“Where are we now?” one firstgrader asked, his eyes scoping a U.S. map on the gym wall. “Are we there yet?”

Three times a week, one-fifth of the school’s student body arrives an hour before classes start to train for Junior Bloomsday. Rain, snow or sunshine, they come as early as 7:30 a.m. to stretch, jump rope and accumulate miles by running around the playfield.

Since they started training earlier this month, the first- through sixth-graders have run about 450 miles, said Jackie Olson, the school’s home school liaison who works with Junior Bloomsday trainees.

“The important thing for our kids to learn is that no matter how fast you are, you need to train to prevent injury,” she said.

Bemiss is one of dozens of Spokane-area schools that provides training for Junior Bloomsday. The annual children’s race, now in its 12th year, is expected to draw more than 10,000 kids between 5 and 12.

After a short game of basketball on Friday, a stampede of Bemiss students walked or raced around the playfield - some out of breath as they racked up the miles, others just waking up from the cold air and a casual morning stroll.

“I like running,” said 8-year-old Jessica Riles, a fourth-grader who averages about 11 miles a week. “It’s cool.”

For each quarter-mile lap around the field, students get a card. At the end of a day’s training, teachers add up all the cards and mark a poster on the wall with students’ names.

“Fit for Bloomsday, Fit for Life,” is their theme. For every level they reach - whether it’s 10K, Marathon or 50-mile Award - students get a certificate and other prizes such as lavender-colored Junior Bloomsday visors.

Most kids don’t need the extra incentive. They just want to run in the race.

”(Training) helps you get ready for the big one,” said 11-year-old Jessica Crosby, a sixth-grader who runs both Bloomsday and Junior Bloomsday.

After running around the field, the students participate in their favorite exercise: a game of pony express.

The game - a relay race around the gym - became a screamfest Friday as students jumped up and down and rooted team members on. Most kids don’t mind getting up early for this, they said. They do it for fun.

””With training, we try to encourage them to be healthy,” said Dan Farley, Bemiss’ physical education teacher. “Maybe they’ll do it all their lives.”

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: JUNIOR BLOOMSDAY The 12th annual Junior Bloomsday takes place Saturday, April 12, at Joe Albi Stadium. The entry fee is $3. Entry forms are available at Spokane-area Albertson’s stores, Snyder’s Bakery outlets and most elementary schools. March 29 is the deadline.