FORT SILL, Okla., Sept. 21, 2017 -- The running coach blows the whistle and the youngsters on the track at Prichard Field stop jogging and walk. Kelsee Mullins, assistant director of youth sports and fitness at the Fort Sill Youth Center, waits 90 seconds, then blows the whistle again. Jogging resumes for the next minute.
This is the 30-minute regimen Mullins has devised for the inaugural Youth 5K Training Club, which as of Sept. 18 had 13 kids ages 7 to 15 enrolled. The purpose is to get youngsters in shape to participate in the Run for the Fallen on Nov. 22, sponsored by the 428th Field Artillery Brigade to honor fallen warriors.
Mullins researched various "couch to 5K" type websites, and devised the regimen that involves a one-minute jog and a 90-second walk for 30 minutes. The intervals will change weekly so that they are jogging 10 minutes, then 15, then 20 minutes at a time.
"With the workout regimen, if they do it correctly, they should be able to run the whole thing," she said.
The club meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:45 p.m. for nine weeks, and they are supposed to do the Friday training on their own. "They have to be disciplined," she said. Several parents were on the track walking at their own pace or keeping up with their children.
"This is something they can do at their own speed," she said of the Run for the Fallen. "No one wins or loses."
Mullins was afraid she wouldn't have anyone interested in the running club and was pleasantly surprised at the turnout, especially on a warm, muggy afternoon. "A lot of kids are excited," she said. "They like to run."
Jacob Felter, 10, agreed. "I like running," said the Freedom Elementary School student. His mom Bethany Felter was on the track, too, but didn't try to keep up with him and several other boys he was running with.
One of them was Sean Cantrell, 12. "I joined to support the fallen," said Cantrell, who goes to Central Middle School in Lawton. He and his Soldier father did the Run for the Fallen at Fort Irwin, Calif. last year, said his mother Loralee Cantrell. She had walked the track with two younger children, the youngest age 2.
To join the running club, call Mullins at 580-442-5420/5926 or visit Parent Central Services to enroll.
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