Friday was the “Shamrock Shuffle” at school, AKA T’s first jog-a-thon!

The event was held the Friday before St. Patrick’s Day, thus the very cute name and theme (plus it was crazy hair day, too!). All grades TK-8 participated in the school-wide fundraiser. The students were divided into groups by grade level, and they ran en mass around one of two loops over a 25-minute period throughout the day (middle schoolers got to participate in more of a fit-a-thon event with additional activities mixed in, such as Zumba and fitness stations). It was each student’s goal to raise at least a few dollars for the PTA, with the money going toward PTA-sponsored events such as field trips and family movie nights.

I have to say, T did a bang-up job on both the fundraising front and the running itself! T only asked close family members to donate to the cause, but every time he asked, he went for the gusto and aimed high. Hey, it doesn’t hurt to ask, right? Well, lucky for him, it worked in his favor; because of his boldness and their generosity, T raised over $100 for his school’s PTA! Thanks to all of you who donated! Because of the amount he raised, he will be entered into a few extra prize drawings and get to attend a special lunch with others who met those required fundraising goals.

As for the jogging portion of the jog-a-thon, T ran 10 laps! At every few laps, the committee had little incentive prizes along the way, like bracelets, necklaces, and even little leprechaun figurines. T collected a few of those up as he made his way around, and around, and around, and… yeah, OK, you get the idea.

I still remember my first jog-a-thon. It was when I was in Kindergarten at St. Columba in San Diego. We ran around the field at the bottom of the hill from where our school was because we didn’t have a grass field at our school. I ran 27 laps. I have no idea what prizes I got along the way or if there was a pizza lunch for those who raised x amount of cash, but I will always remember I ran 27 laps. But it’s weird that I ran that many laps because I’m not a runner – and I never was – so I have to imagine that those laps were a LOT smaller than the ones T ran on Friday… or we were out there for a lot longer of a time period!

Our jog-a-thon was a wonderful event. The committee really did a great job getting and keeping everyone pumped up and the kids going from start to finish. I had a blast volunteering as a “lap-checker” (crossing laps off of the kids’ cards as they lapped around) and cheering the kids along during the morning. I think T had fun at the run, too. Can’t wait until the next one!

RMT’ers, have your kids experienced their first jog-a-thon or other school event yet that you personally have a fond memory of from your own childhood?