Kelleys Island Running Club

 Kelleys Island School Intersquad Meet

Cheered on by islanders seated in bleachers, the Kelleys Island School running team ran a course at the Community Park on Monday, September 12^th to practice their skills for upcoming meets with other schools. The three students, Josie Gaither, Nikolay Skeans and Victoriya Skeans were encouraged by shouts of encouragement from the folks in the bleachers and residents of houses surrounding the park.

Victoriya, a seventh grader, will be competing on September 24^th at Freemont Walsh Park. She has reached the age where she will be participating in Ohio High School Athletic Association sanctioned competitions. Shaving 30 seconds off her two-mile course time during the intersquad meet is an encouraging result for her next meet. Nikolay and Josie will also participate in a ¾ mile elementary race at Fremont Walsh Park on the 24th.

Nikolay, a fourth grader, ran the two-mile course accompanied by his mom Nataliya Skeans. This was one of the longest runs for Nikolay who came through the finish line with a big smile on his face, arms raised in the air, with Lily the family dog at his side. 

Josie Gaither, a fourth grader, ran a 900meter course with a steady gait throughout her race. She is a new member to the team and clearly enjoys the sport and never stops running! Following her finish, she then ran along with Nikolay as he completed the race. 

The intersquad meet gives the runners an opportunity to practice their meet skills between competitions. A special thank you goes out to the islanders who turned out to watch and cheer the runners on; having an audience brings another element of the competition to the students and prepares them for actual meets.   

Summer, cross country training, morning run 3.14 miles with Vik and Nik Skeans. Hydration is an important part of our preparation and recovery!

Welcome to the Kelleys Island Elementary Running Club page!

We are proud to have had a running club at Kelleys Island school since 2017. We have an Elementary Running Club Team member who is now a middle school student athlete and will be running in OHSAA middle school sanctioned meets! Our Elementary Runners will compete 2-3 times this fall.

Our elementary school runners practice Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3:30pm. We utilize many different places on the island to run! Our school gym provides us with equipment and space to do drills, exercises and have a safe place to run in inclement weather.

Most of our elementary races are 1 mile. New for this year is the Middle and Elementary School State Cross Country championship meet, the end of October. The Elementary distance will be 2 miles for this event.

Running is great for children! It improves mental and physical well being; it's fun; it improves sleep; it raises your IQ; it's free; running is an individual and a team sport; it teaches perseverance, boosts self esteem and confidence and teaches a life long exercise habit.

For more information about Running at Kelleys Island School please contact: Coach Jodie Smith runjode@gmail.com