GROVE CITY — More than 56 years after breaking the four-minute mile mark, runner Roger Bannister is still making an impact on the world.
In celebration of Bannister’s famed triumph, people around the country have been remembering the feat for several years now with National Run-A-Mile Day including a local observance organized by S. Mark Courtney.
The longtime Grove City-area running enthusiast celebrated May 4 with Grove City Middle School students, encouraging the kids to walk, jog or run four laps on the high school track for the second straight year.
“The hardest step is the first step out the door,” Courtney said.
“We try to make it simple, just get kids out,” said David Watt, the executive director of American Running Association. “The whole impetus behind it is our effort to get kids more active. We try to make it more of a fun thing this way it’s all about participation and doing it.”
Watt, who founded the event three years ago, was on hand himself to see the local event, making the trip north from his home in Virginia.
“We started it really small,” Watt said. “We’re trying to (spread the word about) it virally in a grassroots way.”
National Run-A-Mile Day’s grown to about 30 sites around the country, Watt said. He’s talked to people interested in organizing local celebrations as far away as Nevada with everyone from elementary and middle school students to running clubs participating, he added.
“At this point, that’s how it’s growing,” Watt said. “It’s just our step to try to get youth more active,” noting the overall goal is to encourage kids to stay active all year.
“If it’s something like this and they (the kids) know there’s not a grade attached to it, it can be a start,” Watt noted. “If they see their time drop from one year to the next, it gives them some motivation. It’s not just a one-day event, it’s something that you can do everyday.”
Helping Courtney, a member of the American Medical Athletic Association’s board or directors, organize the event were also Grove City Middle School physical education teachers Jeff Lumley and Rita Stewart.
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