Children's club ready for goal race

Just like the "big" run, the Cooper River Bridge Run's Kids Run is providing a goal for youngsters to train for.

Three years ago in the months before the Kids Run, Windsor Hill Elementary School second-grade teacher Jodi Caruso, a runner herself, decided to start a "running club" at the school in North Charleston. That club, which started with her, another teacher and about 30 kids, has grown to 12 teachers and 101 students. Of those kids, 97 have registered for Friday's mile race. "At a school like ours, it is such a great program, especially for some of our kids who may not excel in many other areas or understand what eating healthy or getting exercise means," says Caruso. "We are trying to get them involved in an all-around healthy lifestyle."

Starting in January, Caruso and other teachers launch the training program, which takes place two days a week and lasts a total of 45 minutes each session. Those sessions include stretching, a fun game to warm up, such as tag or relay races, and then running laps around the playground for 15 to 20 minutes. The running focuses more on endurance than speed.

The kids like it because the teachers make it fun.

Second-grader Raquan Simmons enjoyed last year's running club so much that he looked forward to it this year. "Today we did seven laps," says Simmons. "Every time I run, I get faster and faster."