Something's Afoot at Whetstone Elementary

If you drive down Centerway Road at midday, you may see a strange sight: dozens upon dozens of kids walking, running, skipping and sprinting around in circles at Whetstone Elementary School. What’s so unusual about kids running and skipping in circles at recess? Well, it’s actually one very big circle; a makeshift track, one-sixth of a mile around, fashioned from colorful cones. And these kids are happily making counter-clockwise loops, every day the weather allows.

What motivates them to run laps at recess? For now, motivation comes in the form of a little plastic pawprint. Every time a student completes 30 laps (five miles)—whether that takes three days sprinting or three weeks walking—he or she gets a colorful plastic wildcat token to add to the silver chain so many of the kids are now sporting. But Assistant Principal Antonio Scott hopes the kids will soon run for more intrinsic reasons: because it feels good, because it’s fun to compete with your friends, or maybe even because it makes focusing in class a little bit easier.

Teachers are certainly noticing a difference after the kids burn off steam in the Wildcat Running Club. But where did this idea come from? Don’t kids just run around naturally? According to Scott, some kids tended to be a bit too sedentary at recess, while others—those inclined to run—sometimes took it a bit too far.

“It’s no secret that recess can be a hotbed of safety concerns. [With 100 to 150 kids sharing the recess space] there is often not enough supervision to keep a soccer game from getting too physical, or a game of tag from getting dangerous,” he said.

When the school had to pull the plug on its popular soccer games, Scott knew he needed to give the kids a slightly more structured alternative. He found it close to home; in the Frederick County school his son now attends.

“Mileage clubs are not a new concept, but I had never heard of one being created for a school. My son’s school had just applied for a grant to build a paved path because their running club had turned the field into a muddy mess. I learned more and realized we could do the same thing at Whetstone.”

The unusually mild winter allowed him to launch the club in February, and it is still going strong.

“We had about 90 percent participation in the first few weeks, and we want to keep it above 50 percent. So far, we haven’t dipped below about 75 percent.”

On a recent Friday, the kids jostled in line to receive the cards used to record their laps. Once they had cards in hand, they were off. Some made loops throughout the 30-minute recess, while others ran until they were tired and then moved off to more traditional playground pursuits like hopscotch, basketball, and jumping rope. Several staff members joined in the fun, running, walking, and cheering on their students.

Scott finds reasons to smile every day as he oversees the Running Club. He is proud of the 10 or so kids who have completed an impressive 30 miles in five weeks, and notes that many of them are nearing the 40-mile mark (which translates to 240 laps, or eight pawprint tokens). But he is especially happy for the kids who may lack self confidence, perhaps because they are overweight or have special needs that make them different from their peers. Scott is particularly delighted to see these kids complete their first five miles, and to see their pride when they get to slip that first token onto their silver necklace.

Can you help? The Whetstone ES Running Club needs volunteers to help count laps and encourage the runners. No experience needed! If you can spare an hour—or even 30 minutes—between 11am and 1:30pm on weekdays, call the school at 301-840-7191.

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