Reedsburg Area Medical Center - Feelin' Good Mileage Club Program

What is it?

Feelin’ Good Mileage Club is a fitness program that motivates young people to get fit and stay in shape through exercise. The program is simple: Several times each week at recess, elementary students walk on a designated track on the school playground. A volunteer or playground supervisor marks children’s Mile Marker cards each time they complete a lap on the course, and rewards are given at various mileage goals. Reedsburg Area Medical Center pays for and provides all of the materials, incentives, and awards to help make this program successful and keep it motivating to students. Shoelaces, backpack pulls, bracelets, toe tokens (brightly colored plastic tokens worn on shoelaces), certificates, and posters to celebrate the children’s accomplishments within the school and at home all help kids keep moving and are provided by Reedsburg Area Medical Center to the schools.

Who is it for?

Students in area elementary schools, grades K-8.

Why do they do it?

Childhood obesity and lack of physical activity are issues facing many communities. While getting fit, children in the program also learn responsibility, mathematics (counting fractions of miles in laps), goal setting, record-keeping skills, and self-esteem building. Best of all, this happens while the child builds muscles, burns calories, burns off excess energy, reduces stress, and learns good lifetime habits.

Impact

About 900 children are currently participating in the program, and more than 5,000 children have been involved in the program since its inception. Feelin’ Good Mileage Club is up and running in five elementary schools and in the middle school, and continues to grow and expand. In fact, the enthusiasm generated from this program has expanded into requests for an adult program for school staff.

Contact: Jodie Molitor
Community Relations Coordinator
Telephone: 608-768-6245
E-mail: jmolitor@ramchealth.org