President's Fitness awards at Bryn Mawr Elementary School

On Sunday after almost 70K of racing in one week for the woman and over 100K for the men at the Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Trails in Fairbanks, AK the 2008/2009 competitive ski season came to an end. A lull in Mt. Redoubt’s volcanic activity on Monday gave my flight from Anchorage the opportunity to take off, just before the volcano spurted another ash cloud. This was the first flight to Minneapolis since the volcano began erupting a week earlier. I was so relieved when we finally got off the runway.

On Wednesday morning I joined the second through fifth graders at the Bryn Mawr Elementary School to hand out medals and certificates to every kid who completed The President’s Fitness Challenge. Each student was required to partake in healthy activities and eating habits while keeping track of their choices for the previous 6 weeks.

The best part about Anita Chavez’s P.E. class is that she has almost all of them XC skiing during the winter! The Theodore Wirth and City of Lakes Loppet Trails run right through the school playground and the trails behind the school are where I train the most when I am home during the spring, summer, fall and winter. Almost 80% of the 180 kids in the assembly had skied in the City of Lakes Mini-Loppet. AWESOME!!!

I spoke to the kids about my XC skiing training regime leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics and how much I love training in the Minneapolis parks all year. We talked about many of the different parks in the area and all of the different types of activities we can do in the parks and on the bike paths, like running, biking, rollerblading, soccer, baseball and tag. The kids had lots of questions about Skiing, Alaska, Big Mountains and my new training partner Lahti the Husky!

General Mills was also an integral part of the presentation offering prizes and info about good healthy food choices. The kids did a great job answering the trivia questions about the food groups and serving sizes!

I look forward to working more with Anita Chavez and the kids at Bryn Mawr this summer during their summer school programs and with the support of General Mills for the Tri-Loppet program that is being offered to the Anwatin and Anderson Elementary Schools.