Jasper Dawson was excited to see what he called “Pittsburgh City.”
His mother, Megan, was excited for her 7-year-old son to join her on a run through the city. Both took part in last year’s “Kids of Steel” run, part of the annual Pittsburgh Marathon.
“I’ve done the half-marathon a couple of times and I thought ‘Kids of Steel’ would be fun to share with Jasper,” Dawson said. “He said I was the ‘Grown-Up of Steel.’”
Last year more than 450 Franklin Regional students took part in the program, which requires them to train and run a total of 25.2 miles — running the final mile at the actual marathon to “complete” an official marathon-length 26.2 miles.
Franklin Regional Intermediate School teacher Renee Ryan and her husband, Chris, oversaw the program for its first four years, but after their daughter graduated, they approached the Franklin Regional Athletic Association to discuss its future.
Starting this year, the athletic association will add running to its stable of sports that already includes baseball, softball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, competitive and recreational cheerleading.
“For this first year, we want to just do the ‘Kids of Steel’ program,” said FRAA Vice President Heather McKeever. “Eventually, we’d like to develop that into FR Runs, a full run club, and have it serve as a feeder into the high school track and field program.”
Dawson is also an FRAA officer, serving as the group’s secretary, and said she’s hoping the run club will allow her to spend more time with Jasper.
“We’d like to grow the club, but I also work full-time with the Army, so I think this will also give us an opportunity to spend more time together,” she said. “He really enjoyed running with his friends, and he enjoyed getting the medal at the end of the ‘Kids of Steel’ run.”
Franklin Regional Athletic Association officials will host registration for this year’s “Kids of Steel” program throughout February through their website, FRAAsports.org.
“We’ll have two three-week sessions to get the kids ready as much as we can,” McKeever said.