Tanaina students run marathon, 1 mile at a time

WASILLA — Tanaina Elementary’s annual field day will include a special addition to the schedule this year — the culmination and celebration of six weeks of work by a group of elementary students and their families.

About 250 runners, young and old, are expected to finish their final mile of the first Tanaina Kids Marathon Thursday at 11:30 a.m., at Tanaina Elementary in Wasilla.

Since April 8, participants have worked to complete their 26-mile marathon one mile at a time. With the help of the founder of the program, Tanaina Elementary librarian Diane Firmani, participants have charted their progress and celebrated milestones along the way while participating in the non-competitive, non-timed event.

“You look at a giant thing, even as an adult, you do it one little bit at a time and it all adds up,” Firmani said. “I wanted to give them little incentives along the way.”

Firmani is using colored bracelets to help the students mark their progress. Every fifth mile completed earns a runner a new bracelet. Firmani — a longtime advocate of Valley youth and youth activities — came across the idea when she was in Missoula, Mont., with two friends to compete in a half-marathon. She saw a woman wearing a “Missoula Kids Marathon” T-shirt. Firmani asked the woman about the program.

“She told me what they did, and I said, ‘can I steal it?” Firmani said.

Firmani read about the Missoula group’s work online, and saw runners were doing something similar in a number of other communities. This year, she wanted to bring it to Tanaina.

Firmani said the program immediately received great attention, and she was excited to see the number of families become involved. Firmani set up a Facebook page for the program and is excited to read daily accounts detailing the progress of the participants. Spending her days with the elementary students, Firmani knows how important it is to urge youth to stay active.

“It’s paramount,” she said. “It gets them off of the video games, gets them with the parents, gets them outside.”

Firmani said she hopes the Tanaina Kids Marathon becomes a new annual tradition at her school, and she would love to see the program or something similar spread throughout the community.

“It’s such a positive thing,” Firmani said.

Firmani and organizers have also received tremendous support from the community, she said. Mat-Su Health Foundation granted funds. Business such as Skinny Raven and House of Bread have also helped with the effort.