By Tyler Dahlgren

The miles Hadley Nelson has logged the last three years are enough to get the fifth-grade student from her little hometown of Maxwell, Nebraska to the Rocky Mountains west of Denver.

Nelson joined the Maxwell Elementary Running Club when she entered the third-grade, and has put one foot in front of the other ever since. Fueled by the next milestone, ‘round and ‘round the Maxwell gymnasium she goes. 

“I ran 91 miles that first year, and then 160 in fourth grade,” Nelson said in between laps on a Tuesday morning in May. “So far this year I’ve run 130 miles or so.”

And she’s not alone. Each morning at 7:40, Monday through Friday, the sneakers start squeaking. The kids just go, go, go. This year alone, the Maxwell Running Club has amassed 1,233 miles and counting. In a mild upset, the kindergarteners mounted an epic comeback on the second-graders to take the Running Club crown.

“It’s been a great opportunity for the kids,” said superintendent Danny McMurtry, who was approached with the idea by K-12 art teacher and varsity cross country and track coach Jerod Meinheit a few years ago. “It benefits teachers in the classroom, gets their wiggles out and gets them ready to learn. They have something to look forward to every day.”

It was Meinheit’s daughter, a student at Buffalo Hills Elementary in Kearney, who actually gave him the idea. He saw her enthusiasm for their Running Club, and pushed for it in Maxwell. McMurtry loved the idea, and a morning tradition was born.

“Kids just like to be active,” Meinheit said. “It teaches them to set goals. It starts off small, and then they just continue to work at it and continue to reach milestones.”

Some students, like Nelson, have recorded the equivalent of two, three or even four marathons over the course of the school year.

“The sense of excitement they feel when they hit those milestones is awesome,” said Meinheit. “The kindergarteners don’t go a day without asking me about their mileage. It’s rewarding to see the amount of work they put in. Some of these kids show up every single morning.”

Friday mornings are especially fun, as Meinheit sets up relay races that have blossomed into a big hit with the kids.

“That’s always packed,” said McMurtry. “The kids just hoot and holler and have a bunch of fun competing against each other.”

Meinheit spent the first couple of years tracking the miles by hand, a tall task given the club’s popularity. Eventually, the district purchased a lab tracker that keeps the tally digitally. Each student carries a card with them as they go. The kids usually eclipse a mile per morning.

“I like how it teaches you to challenge yourself,” said Nelson. “I think it’ll just really prepare me for going into junior high and high school in different ways.”

Whether the kids go on to run for Meinheit down the road is besides the point, but it does give them an idea of what it might take.

“It teaches them a little bit about the physical and mental aspects of what it takes to be a runner,” he said. “It lets them experience that now before they get into junior high.”

Running Club also instills in the students a healthy habit and a drive they’ll be able to lean on in the years to come. They’re learning lessons with each lap, and they’re having a whole bunch of fun doing it. If running becomes a lifelong hobby, that’s great. But Running Club is about so much more than that.

“The ability to show up every day is so important,” said McMurtry. “And maybe that’s not from a running sense. If it is, great. But the ability to be consistent and determined, if that translates into the real world for them, then this was a success.”

When the clock strikes 7:56, the sneakers stop squeaking and the Running Club kids break for class. They’re rejuvenated, energized and ready to take on another day in the life of a grade-schooler.

Tomorrow morning, they’ll lace ‘em up and do it again.

“I really just enjoy running,” Nelson said. “I think it’s something I’ll do forever.”