Kids dash for fun at Naperville meet

More than 1,000 kids from 14 Naperville elementary schools found a fun reason to run this week in the annual Crosstown Classic cross-country meet.

Competition! Camaraderie! Charity! The race Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Mill Street Elementary had it all.

Participants were members of running clubs from schools in Naperville Unit District 203 who dashed for laps around the playground, ball fields and open spaces at Mill Street. They ran a quarter-mile, half-mile or full mile in 12 different heats divided by grade level and gender in a showcase of the efforts they've been putting into practices and running games at their schools.

The race also raised money for Chicago Run, a nonprofit formed in 2007 in response to childhood obesity problems. The group works to provide physical activity programs that combine learning, nutrition and community.

Coaches say the elementary school running clubs help students form an early love of being active, even if they don't continue in cross country or track in junior high or high school.