NYRR Teams Up With Partnership for a Healthier America

(New York, NY) June 5, 2013 – The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which works with the private sector and PHA Honorary Chair First Lady Michelle Obama to solve the nation’s childhood obesity crisis, and New York Road Runners (NYRR) came together today to announce a multiyear commitment to increase access to physical activity opportunities for kids across the nation. Over the next five years, NYRR will invest $7 million in its Mighty Milers program and distribute its coaching and fitness resources for free, teaching and inspiring more than 500,000 kids to run. The new investment will continue NYRR’s focus on reaching students in underserved neighborhoods.

“Currently, only about half of children in the United States receive the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day,” said PHA CEO Lawrence A. Soler. “Ending the physical inactivity crisis is an important part of reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. With commitments like the one New York Road Runners has made today, we move one step closer in the fight to end childhood obesity.”

Mighty Milers, NYRR’s national, school- and community-based K-8 running program, motivates children of all fitness levels to run or walk regularly and reach their personal distance goals. Over the next five years, through an investment of $7 million dollars, NYRR will expand the number of participating schools by 20 percent and increase the number of student participants by at least 25 percent. In addition, NYRR will disseminate its free digital teaching resource, Running Start, to at least 2,500 schools, arming them with the tools necessary to keep their students active.

“Our vision is to make running a part of every child’s school day,” said Mary Wittenberg, President and CEO of New York Road Runners. “For more than a decade we’ve brought the health and fitness benefits of running to schools in NYC and across the country. We’re excited to join with PHA to grow Mighty Milers and support more teachers and students through our ground-breaking educational resources and professional development."