More About What We Do
The Junior Milers program enhances kids' physical fitness; exposes them to a positive social environment of peers, coaches, and mentors; increases academic performance; and introduces a training process that fertilizes future growth as citizens and members of our community. Given the opportunity to train for and run in our events, students benefit from a program that nurtures the process of setting goals and feeling the excitement of accomplishment, all while respecting the individuality of each athlete.
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The Junior Milers season runs from March 1st to June 1st, culminating in running the relay of the Vermont City Marathon in June. Kids do not need to have running experience to participate, and we begin our program with training two days per week to ensure kids are prepared for the marathon. We provide each runner with a new pair of running shoes, fitted by professionals at Skirack. Burlington-based Skirack works with premier shoe companies Brooks and Saucony to fit kids with proper running shoes. We provide cold weather clothing for the chilly months of training through a partnership with Dirt Chic, a Burlington clothing store. Junior Milers also covers race entry fees for the Vermont City Marathon and team tech shirts. We provide healthy snack and beverage choices to provide optimal pre- and post-training nutrition at every practice. Junior Milers relies entirely on 10 dedicated volunteer coaches and organizers to make the program a success. To finish the season, we partner with Buffalo Wild Wings to provide a celebratory banquet for all runners and volunteers.
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We partner with local youth organizations that serve income restricted families including King
Street Center, the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, Sara Holbrook Community Center, and the
Greater Burlington YMCA. By partnering with these organizations, we are able to reach the diverse population we are targeting and break down barriers to participation. We ensure each youth organization is able to provide transportation and for those that cannot, free bus services are available through the City of Burlington for participants. In order to accommodate all students, our practices start and end with easy access to bus lines. We also partner with Hunt Middle School, Edmunds Middle School, and Burlington High School to offer the program to a wider community. For families with financial capacity, we offer the option to donate to the program with a suggested gift of $150.
