Active SWV Ansted Middle School Running Club

The Active SWV AMS Running Club began training in February two days a week afterschool with the leadership of PE & Health Teacher Kate Miller. To this point about 50 students have successfully logged a lot of miles and a lot of exercises through the halls of Ansted Middle School, in the gymnasium, on the football field, and on the Mill Creek Trail.

Training includes running and drills. Here club members are doing Russian Twists.

This club is successful thanks to the dedication and expertise of Coach Kate Miller in putting together training drills and encouraging the kids to push themselves to accomplish their goals. Assistant Coaches Megan Motz and Brandon Gerwig also participate with the running club and motivate the students every step of the way.

Each training begins with attendance and a group warm-up, followed by running and drills, and ends with a cool-down and each kid logging their laps or mileage on the attendance chart.

Justin Underwood, Aubrey Harvey, Coach Kate Miller, and Makenzie Kessler competed in 6 miles of the April 16th Babcock Gristmill Grinder.

The Ansted community and beyond is always welcome to join the club Tuesdays and Thursdays 3-4pm at Ansted Middle School to participate with and cheer the students on as they take steps to develop and maintain a physically active lifestyle.

Cheer on this team as they continue their training; building up to a race day outlying the school on May 24th at 3pm on the Mill Creek Rail Trail trailhead.

We are in search of sponsors to donate anywhere from $50-$200 to help further support this club and tax deductible private donations are accepted.

If you’d like to start an Active SWV Kids Running Club at your school next fall, rally your staff together and call us up! As you can see, a successful club requires great buy-in from school staff. The Active SWV Kids Run manual & coaches training is provided to any school interested in starting a club.

Our goal is to impact the negative health outcomes that have blighted our region for too long by starting with the kids; fostering in them a habit and the skills needed to maintain a physically active lifestyle. The ultimate goal is that they can involve someone at home in their training and teach a parent, sibling, grandparent, guardian etc. the things they’ve learned at run club so that the impact can grow to reach families and entire communities.  

Kate also leads a Bootcamp in the AMS Choir Room Mondays and Wednesdays at 3pm and residents of Ansted and surrounding communities are encouraged to join for free!

Contact us at [email protected] or 304-254-8488

Happy walking/running!