Don’t ignore that 100th mile just because you are waiting to give out medals!
These little things give your program personality and unique flair while still holding to the true mission and vision of 100 Mile Club®.
If you need to read this, you rock! What a great accomplishment!! Your school rocks and so do you! You must be a fabulous coach to have students so motivated and wanting to reach new heights! You can do any or all of the following things to recognize your student and still keep with our mission and vision…
1. Send in a digital picture and a little story about him. We will feature him in our upcoming newsletter. We do that often. 🙂
2. Put a special mark on his tee. Make sure that you check the 100 box, but then do something special. (At McKinley, birthplace of 100 Mile Club®, we had TONS of kids hitting 100 early. We would glue a diamond on the back collar of the shirt, and if they hit 200, we’d put another one on, and so on, and so on…). You can get those at www.crystalz.com. The kids LOVE it!!
3. Take a special photo. This, too, can be done VERY inexpensively. One amazing school simply covered a piece of cardboard with butcher paper and created a BIG GLITTER “100” on it (see picture).
4. Announce his name at an upcoming assembly. It doesn’t have to be anything huge…just a mention and a cheer.
5. Add more Boxes! Our schools and kids do this all the time! Some kids are just getting started at 100 miles, so they add their goal on their backs…for all to see! Looking at the phot below, this young runner went 225 miles last year! WOW!
4. Do a special cheer when kids hit 100 early. Some classes have a special cheer for kids that is only done when a student reaches his/her 25, 50, 75, 0r 100 mile goal.
5. Make a human tunnel for students to run through as they cross 100 miles. The kids in the photo below did this without prompting. They were so proud of their classmate that they made a tunnel for him. He came through the other end with tears of joy!
6. Make her a MENTOR, which is a huge honor. Assign him the job of helping other kids reach 100…all the while earning miles for herself. She is a ROCKSTAR!!
Make sure that she knows that her medal is coming, BUT not to stop. That BIG mile number will make people gasp! at Medal Ceremonies at the end of the year. That will be the best award of all.
Please call us if you want to discuss any or all of these, or if you have other ideas! We are all in this together.
Here is a bit more with regard to reaching 100 miles early…
(It’s a good thing! Don’t worry.)
You need to know that…
- The 100 Mile Club® does not award medals to individuals who hit 100 miles until the end of the year awards presentation. Some individuals make 100 miles by mid-January…even earlier! We let these individuals savor the inner rewards that come from humility, poise, confidence and friendship as they help others reach their goals, too. We ask that these individuals reach inside themselves and set new personal goals in order to reach their true level of competitive greatness.
Now that some kids are reaching 100 miles…
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- They should keep running. They oviously ran their 100 miles with ease, and so they need to strive to hit THEIR personal best…whatever that may be. It may be 120, 150, or even 200 or more! That is something the child needs to decide for him/herself. We want them to practice the life skills of poise and confidence. Feel that pride and refrain from boasting. We will celebrate their personal best at the medal ceremony. We promise.
- They should set a new personal goal. Kids that hit 100 early are in need of a new goal. Help them set a reasonable one. Then, help them reach it.
- They should help their friends. They are now a true role model. Others will look to them and seek their assistance, right along with you as HEAD COACH. Students who reach 100 miles become MENTORS themselves, running with and guiding their peers and friends, all the while earning more and more miles for themselves. It is a classic win-win situation.
- They can pull together a group to run together as a team…Kids who reach 100 miles have the opportunity to show true friendship, cooperation, and team spirit as they bring their classmates along so may all reach their personal best…TOGETHER!
All individuals wait until the year-end medal ceremony to receive their certificates (and medals if they hit 100 miles). All individuals receive certificates celebrating their miles run, but only those who hit 100 miles or more receive a medal (and no, you do not get 2 medals if you get 200 miles!)
Rock on, Coaches!
