The distance runners include Jason Lehmkuhle, Andrew Carlson, Jon Grey, Josh Moen, Katie McGregor, Meghan Peyton, Emily Brown, Heather Kampf, Gabriele Anderson, Jamie Cheever and Megan Hogan.
The Fridley 5K Kids in Action program was developed to get kids up and moving throughout the school year, promote fitness, healthy eating and a balanced lifestyle, and culminates with a 5K fun run. The athletes will show the kids some simple stretches, lead them through various running activities which have been planned by school gym teachers, and talk about their life as professional runners.
The Team USA Minnesota runners are assisting with the effort on behalf of Life Time Run, which is the national running project at Life Time Fitness. The Fridley Schools are located in the northern suburb of Fridley, part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area.
“This is a great opportunity for the team to connect with the community,” said Pat Goodwin, founder and president of Team USA Minnesota. “When Life Time Run asked the athletes if they were interested in participating in this school program, they were all excited about the chance to connect with kids about the importance of fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.”
There are 1,100 children enrolled in the two Fridley elementary schools that are involved with the 5K Kids in Action program.
About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Formed in 2001, the purpose of the training center is to improve the competitiveness of post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians. The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Team USA Minnesota’s major sponsor is Life Time Run (www.lifetimerun.com) and its silver sponsor is Twin Cities In Motion (www.tcmevents.org). It is also supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project. For more information, visit the team’s web site atwww.teamusaminnesota.org.