Story by Ainsley Hall
BUNKER HILL — Bunker Hill Elementary School hosted the Bears Run for a Turkey Race on Tuesday, where Running Bears Club members competed to win a Thanksgiving turkey.
After training for two months, the students ran around the school property, wrapping around the track and school playground twice before crossing the finish line. The winning boy and girl each received a turkey to share with their family during Thanksgiving.
For nine years, Craig Dixon, physical education teacher at Bunker Hill Elementary, has led the Running Bears Club to give students the opportunity to learn about endurance running. The club is open to third graders, though it has a limited number of spots. The group members met twice a week to run and build up their stamina for the turkey race. He started the club because he wanted to give students who aren’t a part of a sports team a chance to exercise.
“There are kids who aren’t on a team who need some sort of opportunity to get some extra exercise,” Dixon said. “I wanted to create something more individualized. And it goes with the program I teach during school and teaches them more about endurance running, which I test them for every quarter.”
During the race, Dixon also invited students who already graduated from the club to come back and participate. They helped the younger students and showed them some of the things they learned about running since completing their turkey race.
Including the returning students, around 37 children participated in the race. The winners of the race included Savannah Gipe and Logan Hooper, with Rheagan Alley and Eric Mendez coming in second place. Out of the returning students, Holden Marple and Elizabeth Lore won first place. Each of these students won a turkey or chicken for Thanksgiving.
“I enjoy seeing the ones that aren’t runners try it out,” Dixon said. “They sign up, give it a chance and realize that they can do it. It makes a difference in their lives to know they can take up that kind of challenge and practice a healthy lifestyle.”
Though winning something for their family is fun, the main point of the race was to give students something to build towards and encourage them to get moving. Parents and family members came out to support their students as they challenged themselves during the race. Everyone cheered as the runners pushed to the finish line.