CARMEL, CA–The award-winning JUST RUN youth fitness program of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation recently surpassed four million total miles run by kids across the country since the program began 13 years ago. JUST RUN will celebrate the milestone on Friday, March 23rd at 1 p.m. PDT at Santa Rita Elementary School in Salinas, CA. More than 600 Santa Rita students will run a “victory lap” around the school’s outdoor field to commemorate the program’s milestone.

“We are proud to have reached this major milestone and to be celebrating with one of our outstanding schools,” said Susan Love, JUST RUN’s Program Director. “Santa Rita’s principal Ana Cuevas is a wonderful advocate for youth fitness and has enthusiastically encouraged all of her students and teachers to participate.”

The school-wide celebration will begin with brief presentations by the school principal, the JUST RUN team of Susan Love and Mike Dove, and Dr. Nancy Kotowski, Monterey County Superintendent of Public Instruction. Students will then take off on their victory lap and finish to healthy snacks courtesy of GoGo squeeZ.

Santa Rita is one of 233 schools and over 18,000 students nationwide in the 2018 JUST RUN program, both record numbers. Schools, individual classes, and groups log and report their miles back to the Big Sur Marathon office. JUST RUN complements its running program with two additional youth-focused features: Just Taste, aimed at promoting healthy eating, and Just Deeds, which encourages acts of good citizenship among schoolchildren.

Since its inception, JUST RUN has won many awards including National Youth Program of the Year from Running USA.

“JUST RUN is a free program, available to any school in any locale,” added Susan Love. “Our goal is to make a positive impact on as many children as possible and we are looking forward to many more years of successful implementation both locally and throughout the country.”

To learn more about JUST RUN visit www.justrun.org. For more information on the Big Sur Marathon Foundation, visit bigsurmarathon.org

Media Contact:
Hillary Gibson, Big Sur Marathon Foundation
hillary@bsim.org / 831-625-6226