Challenges are important because meeting them makes us both feel and be more self-confident. Runspiration is a program that involves a physical challenge -- running -- coupled with a dose of inspiration -- reading picture book biographies of amazing men and women who overcame great challenges and made the world a better place.
For four Wednesdays in a row, participants in grades 3-5 will work toward accomplishing a self-determined goal. After testing themselves the first week to see how far they can comfortably jog around the Town Hall field, they will then decide how many laps they want to be able to run by the fourth and last week of the program. Each subsequent week they will work up to that goal and then on the fourth week will test themselves to see if they can meet their goal. It is unimportant if the goal is two laps or twelve. What is important is that each goal be genuinely meaningful to each participant and that the successful completion of the goal will make participants feel justly proud of their efforts. We will spend about 40 minutes at the field, with fun warm-up games and some jogging, and then return to the library for a well-deserved snack and a picture book.