Marathon Kids, MommiNation challenge moms and kids to get moving in July – austin360

Austin-based Marathon Kids is teaming up with MommiNation, an online community led by Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross and business woman Mykal Steen, to get more moms moving with their kids.

Marathon Kids celebrated its 25th year of motivating kids to start running last school year. It now encourages kids across the countryto run the equivalent of four marathons a year.

MommiNation, which also was founded in Austin and has national reach, is specifically a community for Black momsbut welcomes all mothers.

"Our community is really intentional about supporting Black moms while also being inclusive," says Richards-Ross. "If you want to learn about the Black experience Black moms are having a unique experience and need to be supportedin every way we love to expose our experiences with everyone."

MommiNation has been doing a twice-a-year, 30-day Fit Mommi Challenge. The next challenge launches July 5. This year will includea weekly "Walk and Talk" from Marathon Kids as part of the challenge.

Every Saturday morning, for four weeks, a different "Walk and Talk" will be offered. It will be live in the MommiNation app and on Instagram. Each week a different MommiNation mom will lead a conversation that parents can have with their children while they are walking or running. Some of the topics will include going back to school in the fall and being prepared for life after a pandemic.

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This is a great time to do a "Walk and Talk" with kids, says Cami Hawkins, the CEO of Marathon Kids. Kids can reclaim some of the social emotional learning they lost because of the pandemic, she says. "It's a natural way to do that in a fun environment," she says.

The pairing of Marathon Kids and MommiNationis a "perfect match for us to apply that message of getting kids active early and following the footsteps of the best role models,"Hawkins says.

"Anytime we can get the whole family involved, we love that," she says. She says shehopesthat MommiNation's moms will want to start Marathon Kids groups in their schools or clubs in their communities. "The more moms in our corner, the better we are," Hawkins says.

Like Marathon Kids, which inspires kids to run through a collective experience, MommiNation's 30-day fitness challenge is about creating acollective fitness experience online. Live activities happen three or four times a week. Women post their progress and encourage one another throughout the month. There will be awardsfor moms who lead the Fit Mommi Challenge.

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Summertime is a great time for families to focus on fitness. People often talk about the summer slide in relation toacademic learning loss during the summer, but the same thing is true with fitness, Hawkins says. Kids are missing the physical activity they get at recess and through physical education classes.

Kids who become involved with Marathon Kids can be transformed, Hawkins says. "The most amazing thing about Marathon Kids is the sense of confidence it builds in them," Hawkins says. "They accomplished the goals they set out to accomplish."

For the moms who do the Fit Mommi Challenge, Richards-Ross says, it is "mind-blowing from where they startand where they finish."Yes, it's about the fitness, Richards-Ross says, but "they find their purpose again; they find themselves again. It is truly a beautiful experience."

To find out how to become a Marathon Kid, go tomarathonkids.org.

To join MommiNation and the Fit Mommi Challenge, go tomommination.com.

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Marathon Kids, MommiNation challenge moms and kids to get moving in July - austin360