100 Mile Club® was founded in the 1992-93 school year by a 4th-generation public school teacher and special education specialist who saw a need and addressed it directly. She and her pure enthusiasm, passion, talent, authenticity, vision, creativity, innovation, and inspiration still lead our organization today and shape our deeply-rooted core values.
Since 1993, 100 Mile Club has grown to serve teachers and schools nationwide addressing childhood inactivity and obesity. Here is why we are the ONE…
1. We know teachers and schools. It’s where we started and it is where we live. Schools are the heart of a commUNITY and where our children spend the majority of their waking hours. Teachers are everything. THEY are the change makers. We know and understand this deeply and work tirelessly to help our schools do what they do best: Inspire and encourage their students to be the very best they can be.
In the words of John Wooden,
No written word
No spoken plea
Can teach our youth what they should be
Nor all the books on all the shelves
It’s what the teachers are themselves
2. We started it all and we do it best. 100 Mile Club was the 1st national non-profit organization to challenge kids to walk or run 100 or more miles in a school-year. We are the trendsetters. We are the innovators. 26 years of direct experience, research, and hands-on expertise are impossible to duplicate.
3. We love what we do. We are beyond dedicated to our mission…we live our mission. Our enthusiasm, hard work, accessibility, and expertise help our schools create Happy, Healthy, Connected Kids® through the journey to 100 miles and beyond!
4. We are Nationwide. Our program and unique incentives unite thousands of students and schools in all 50 states, each actively combating and reversing childhood inactivity and obesity while sharing our mission, vision, and spirit.
5. We keep it simple. The absolute genius of 100 Mile Club is its simplicity. Run or walk 100 miles and earn a Gold Medal. That’s it. It is our job to make your lives as uncomplicated as possible, and that is what we do.
6. We help build strong, positive social-emotional connections. The relationship between teachers and students can have a lasting impact on the development of a child and when teachers participate in 100 Mile Club WITH their students, a unique bond is created.
There is something special about a shared goal, and conversations that happen while walking can be some of the most powerful and meaningful.
Teachers who have strong bonds with their students have been shown to be more effective in their teaching role, experience lower levels of behavioral problems, improved attitudes toward classwork, and improved academic success. (O’Connor et al, 2011)
7. 100 Mile Club can be implemented completely FREE by any school, anywhere, any time. Our NO COST Certificate Path Option supports our deep and passionate NO EXCUSES attitude.
8. Our Award-Winning LOW-COST Program Option includes our legendary, original Signature Incentive Package. Just $10, the cost of our Incentive Package has not changed in 26 years and we intend to keep it that way.
- Our famous trademark 100 Mile Club shirt! Our 100 Mile Club t-shirt, earned at 25 miles, changes color annually, allowing runners to track their miles visibly and together, unifying participants and schools worldwide.
- That gorgeous 100 Mile Club Gold Medal is everything! Always earned, never given, our custom-designed 100 Mile Club Gold Medals are the pinnacle of our Incentive package, of the highest quality, and are specifically designed to complement the 100 Mile Club shirt color each year.
9. 100 Mile Club works. Our award-winning, school-centered, standards and research-based program has been proven effective in:
- increasing daily physical activity
- improving attendance, decreasing daily tardiness
- improving classroom behaviors
- strengthening family and commUNITY engagement and teacher-student connection
- building self-esteem
- developing and sustaining healthy habits
- creating a culture of fitness and wellness
- improving peer relationships, team spirit, camaraderie
- teaching short and long-term planning and goal-setting
10. We are more than a run/walk program…we change lives. Through the blocks in Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, 100 Mile Club reinforces essential life-skills, providing opportunities for students to experience true, transformational, personal success.
11. We give back and our schools do the same. We use what we have to help our schools in-need and build 100 Mile Clubs and support physical activity efforts worldwide. La Carrera de los Caballitos held the weekend of the famous Caballo Blanco Ultramarathon in Urique, Chihuahua, Mexico is supported by 100 Mile Club schools, Mas Korima, and the city of Urique to create an incredible day of running and celebration for thousands of Raramuri (Tarahumara) children each year. 100 Mile Clubs have been started in Zimbabwe and across Western Sahara, led by dedicated volunteers and champions, giving children living in refugee camps a joyful, tangible, exciting, irresistible goal.
12. 100 Mile Club complements and supports physical education and school-based education plans and services. The 100 Mile Club is a free, simple, enjoyable, standards and evidence-based and highly effective way to assist in the development of physically literate individuals, quality physical education programs, and can serve as a significant part of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP), addressing needs in all component areas.
13. We are not afraid to let our FUN flag fly! Kids are born to run and we let them do just that. Our themed fun runs, commUNITY events, standards-based games and activities, cheers, warmups, and cooldowns keep the focus on fun first. We want everyone to #RunLikeAKid!
14. 100 Mile Club creates champions and facilitates long-term positive change in a noncompetitive, supportive and fully-inclusive environment. Our program is highly adaptable and modifiable to serve all age, fitness, and ability levels.
15. 100 Mile Club is highly flexible and customizable to meet the needs of any school, any size, anywhere, any time without losing its core purpose and essence. Because our mission, vision, and spirit carry such deep roots, our 100 Mile Club school programs may LOOK very different from one another, but they always FEEL the same.
16. We engage family & commUNITY through local events. We have everything you need to set up a meetup, hike, or fun run to bring everyone together and earn miles under the umbrella of fitness, commUNITY, and fun!
17. We love and support our incredible coaches! Our Program Guide and Coaches Corner are filled with turnkey support materials and inspiration for our coaches and advocates. These materials are ever-evolving and are created by, for, and with 100 Mile Club coaches and advocates.
18. Whether you are a teacher, parent, administrator or school health advocate, we’ve got your back. When you are ready to sign up and start your Club, we are present, willing, enthusiastically prepared to help you.
19. 100 Mile Club Customer Service is unsurpassed. Our support team is dedicated, knowledgeable, personable, accessible, and real.
Our diverse National Support Team boasts an in-house IT squad, regional program specialists and coordinators, and a full-time national logistics team that ships as fast as Amazon (maybe even faster)!
In short, we’re good.
20. We care and we lead with heart first. Give us a call, feel the difference, and let’s get started today.
#WeAreONE
Creating Healthy, Happy Connected kids, families, schools, and communities…
ONE mile at a time.
REFERENCES
O’Connor, E. E., Dearing, E., & Collins, B. A. (2011). Teacher – Child Relationship and Behavior Problem Trajectories In Elementary School. American Education Research Journal, 48(1), 120-162.
