TAMPA, Fla. — Young runners with the Tampa Parks and Recreation departments are part of the Pepperjack Running Club, a partnership with the Gasparilla Distance Classic and the city.
"I just like to run," said 10-year-old Levi Bell.
Bell runs for fun, for exercise and for good health.
He's one of the hundreds of kids learning about the importance of starting healthy habits early.
"We're teaching them about clean health, and you know how to just have a good time with the health, with the fruits and vegetables and things like that. We practice twice a week, work on endurance, stretching, hydration, the whole thing," said Coach Alex Warren with Tampa Parks and Rec.
For nearly a decade, Olympic Medalist Med Keflezighi has been working with these kids.
Keflezighi is the 2004 Olympic Silver medalist in the marathon and a New York and Boston Marathon Champion.
He's retired now and runs the Meb Foundation, inspiring kids to lead a healthy lifestyle and make running a part of it.
"For me to come back here and share in my wisdom with them and show them some exercise, it feels good," said Keflezighi.
Last year, Keflezighi surprised a young runner he heard was his biggest fan. Reinsuy Watson was mesmerized.
We spotted Watson again this year. The third grader is ready to run, still mesmerized by Keflezighi.
This weekend, hundreds of kids will lace up their sneakers and hit the track at Jefferson High School for the Publix Too Good for Drugs Jr. Gasparilla Distance Classic.
Kids ages 2-10 will take part in a day of activities and exercise that promote healthy, happy behaviors.
They'll run distances ranging from 30 yards to one mile and compete for medals, bragging rights and something much bigger.
"I push myself and think about how my family members will always feel and what I will be if I get placed and go all the way downtown. All I want to be is to just make my family proud," said 9-year-old A'Dan Greene.
A pediatric dietitian at USF Health will be at the Classic this weekend, cheering kids on.
Nikki Misner knows what it's like to participate in the races. She ran in her first Junior Classic in 1998.
Now, she's hoping to help Tampa Bay area families create healthy lifestyles.
USF Health teamed up with Tampa's Parks and Rec department to integrate lessons on eating healthy into the Pepperjack Kids Running Program.
"I think it's so important that kids find joy and movement and physical activity early. It just becomes a part of your life. And I would say that the junior race was a part of helping build that good foundation," said Misner.
"This year, we started adding nutrition lessons and integrating them into the Pepper Jack Kids Running Program with the City of Tampa Parks and Rec, which we're really excited about. It's six lessons on fruits and vegetables, hydration, whole grains, reducing sugar-sweetened beverages, and then choosing healthy snacks. And they're fun lessons that pair up with the physical activity, running that they're doing," she added.
She said the end goal is to make sure that kids and their families have a good base of knowledge when it comes to making good food choices about what they're putting into their bodies.
