王萍萍

导读：Marathon Kids是一个旨在鼓励儿童锻炼的非盈利组织，该组织近日在德克萨斯大学举办了首次全国性质的马拉松比赛。

Marathon Kids celebrated its 20th anniversary， and first national kickoff event， at the University of Texas at Austin on October 17. Two thousand kids waited their turn at running a lap around the track at Mike A. Myers Stadium to kick off their running journey. Marathon Kids is a nonprofit organization that aims to help children live healthier and happier lives. Kids have the chance to run four marathons， which is 104.8 miles， over three， six， or nine months. Marathon Kids encourages running a little bit everyday， and participants receive encouragement from family or through school or neighborhood programs. This year Marathon Kids partnered with Nike in hopes of expanding the movement nationwide. A main goal of Marathon Kids is to encourage children to dream big. Hosting the kickoff at the University of Texas gave kids a chance to imagine where running can take them. Chris Irvin was once a Marathon Kid， and now hes a senior on the Texas Longhorns track team. “I did Marathon Kids when I was in first or second grade，” said Irvin. “Keep doing whatever you can to stay healthy； you never know where itll take you.”

“If you get kids excited about exercising and staying healthy， it really sets them up for a lifetime of just being a healthy person，” said Ashley Spencer， an Olympic hopeful and two-time NCAA 400-meter champion while at Texas. “We all get caught up with our cell phones and our video games， and thats fun on rainy days， but anytime theres good weather， just go outside！”

“This event can be a spark to a lot of the youth in America to be active and maybe try something they normally wouldnt try，” said Hardee. “Just being outside and being active is a lot of fun.”

Once all the kids were in the bleachers， they were welcomed with a great deal of spirit by Longhorns cheerleaders and the UT dance team， as well as former Texas football player Martin Egwuagu， who gave a welcome speech. After some dancing in the stands and a quick warm-up， it was time for the first lap or “flag lap”， which consisted of runners who were selected to start things off. As kids finished their one lap around the track， Texas athletes from all sports greeted them at the finish line. The kids would then head to “reward path”， where they were given water as well as other prizes and a chance to get pictures taken with family. “It was encouraging and fun to exercise and have my family here to support me，” said Cooper. “I would say to kids to keep on practicing and stay in shape and never stop trying because you get better each time.”

Vocabulary

anniversary n. 纪念日

kickoff n. （比赛的）开始

lap n. 一圈

nonprofit adj.非盈利的

bleacher n. （美）露天看台

（Have you ever taken part in a marathon？ If so， share the experience with us.）