Healthy Living Initiative: Running/Walking Club

Abstract

This study was grounded in the public health literature and the call for schools to serve as physical activity intervention sites. Its purpose was twofold: (a) to examine the daily distance covered by students in a before-school running/walking club throughout 1 school year and (b) to gain insights on the teachers’ perspectives of the club. Participants were students (N = 251) and teachers (N = 24) from an elementary school in one American Indian community in the southwestern United States. Physical activity (i.e., distance) data were collected over 4 weeks throughout the school year, and formal, semistructured interviews were conducted with a subsample of the teachers (n = 15). Physical activity data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, repeated measures ANOVAs, one-way ANOVAs, and independent t tests. Interview data were analyzed using inductive analysis and constant comparison. Findings indicated that students covered between 0.6 and 1.0 mile per day during the running/walking club. Also, findings indicated a significant increase in the average daily distance students covered over time as well as grade level and gender differences. Two themes emerged from the interview data: (a) teachers had positive perceptions of the running/walking club, and (b) teachers perceived themselves as positive physical activity role models for the students. The findings of this study point out that a before-school running/walking club can significantly contribute to students’ daily physical activity and that teachers have the potential to contribute to students’ physical activity and wellness outside of the classroom.