Kids Empowerment + Running Club Launches in North County San Diego
The Kidz Run the World run club in San Diego combines traditional running exercises with empowerment principles to help children boost their physical, social, emotional and resilience skills. Read on to hear how two Encinitas moms came up with the idea and how your kids can join an upcoming session (with a special PROMO CODE for our readers!)
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Kidz Run the World, a new kids' running + empowerment club for kids ages 3-9, starts November 1 in North County San Diego. Tiffany Horton, an Encinitas mom of two boys and a fitness enthusiast, came up with the idea for a kids' running and empowerment club after being inspired by her husband, Jeff. Jeff, a Marine commander and pilot, currently trains fellow military personnel on how to develop resilience skills, control one's thoughts, and manage stress.
“We were talking about how we could expand Jeff's work beyond the military and my first instinct was kids,” says Horton. “If you need to train military personnel on these skills as grown adults, why not train them younger as kids and give them these skills now?”
Horton teamed up with fellow mom, soccer coach and former preschool teacher, Carolina Arias-Martinez, to develop an innovative running club curriculum that combines traditional running games with powerful life lessons in confidence and resilience.
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Physical activity combined with Resilience Training
The Kidz Run the World run club session lasts eight weeks and each week's class combines a physical activity with an empowerment principle. The eight core empowerment principles are:
- Power Words – How we talk about ourselves define who we are
- Positive Thoughts – We are what we think we are
- Aggressive Goals – We dare to believe anything is possible
- Personal Resilience – Setbacks are welcomed as an opportunity to grow
- Teamwork – We can do together what we cannot do alone
- Individual Integrity – We do the right thing even when no one is watching
- Community Vision – Our actions affects our community
- New Beginnings – A finish line is just the beginning of a new journey
“For instance, one week focuses on the warm up and cool down concept,” says Horton. “We know it's important to learn how to warm up and cool down our bodies but also warming your mind up and getting your mindset ready.”
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Boosting Teamwork + Communication Skills
In addition to improving each child's individual skills, many of the running drills involve working pairs or groups to develop teamwork and communication skills.
“Another empowerment principle is taught using tennis balls,” says Horton. “We'll write the power words like ‘strong,' ‘fierce,' ‘mighty,' ‘bold' on a ball. Each team is assigned a power word and has to run and get that power word ball and say, “I am bold,” as they're running back. They can then use these power words in different parts of their life and help them throughout their day, like taking a math test.”
The Final Challenge
The 8-week session closes out with a final “medal challenge” event. In the medal challenge, each participant has their own set of goals to achieve based on their individual progress over the last few classes.
“We don't believe in participation trophies because that's not how life works,” says Horton. “But you should get a medal if you set a goal for yourself and finish the race. We want it to really be a challenge.”
How to Register
Kidz Run the World run club is for ages 3-9.
Locally Well San Diego readers can use the promo code LOCALLYWELL to receive 10% off their 1st Kidz Run the World session. Sibling + military discounts as well as scholarships are also available.
To sign up, visit kidzruntheworld.com.
Looking for More Kid-Friendly Activities Around San Diego?
Explore our Events Calendar for upcoming family-friendly yoga events, meditation classes and wellness workshops around San Diego. Or browse all of our Movement articles for the latest fitness news and trends.
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