'Run The City': Lakewood Youth Can Train For Free For Marathon

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood middle school students will soon have the opportunity to train for the Union Home Mortgage Cleveland Marathon for free.

The YMCA of Greater Cleveland is bringing its We Run This City Youth Marathon program to Lakewood. Through the program, youth get free training, T-shirts, shoes and registration for the race.

"We want to increase confidence in middle school kids. Not every kid is programmed to be part of a scholastic sport. Something like this [marathon program] gives them the ability to develop their self-confidence and their fitness," said Virgil Wahome, associated executive director of the Lakewood Family YMCA.

In fact, Wahome told Patch, We Run This City has helped kids in other communities reduce stress, improve their grades, meet new friends, and feel more confident in their body. He hopes the Lakewood program can bring the same benefits to youth in his city.

The Three Arches Foundation provided a $42,000 grant to the Greater Cleveland YMCA to bring the program to Lakewood.

“We are proud to support the pilot expansion of We Run This City in Lakewood to help address physical health and social disengagement issues among area youth,” said Kristin Broadbent, president and CEO of Three Arches Foundation.

Where It Started

The We Run This City program started as a collaboration between the YMCA and the Cleveland Metropolitan Schools in 2006. Through the program, more than 1,000 Cleveland students received free race registration, as well as shoes, T-shirts and medals.

Teachers and volunteer coaches formed teams of students and train them for the marathon over the course of 12 to 22 weeks. The training includes both a physical regimen and a nutrition plan.

Wahome hopes to launch the Lakewood pilot of We Run This City shortly after New Year's Day. Between now and then, he'll meeting with Lakewood Schools officials and try to recruit teachers and volunteer coaches for the program.

He's also meeting with Lakewood businesses and organizations to provide free T-shirts, shoes and race registration to student participants. He also hopes to use Lakewood's Summer Meltdown as a showcase for We Run This City prior to the Cleveland Marathon.

Any families interested in the program can contact Wahome by calling him at the Lakewood Family YMCA at 216-521-8400, or by emailing him at vwahome@clevelandymca.org.