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Fun 5K

Fun 5K

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group of people running

Purpose

Improve physical fitness and set and achieve a goal by planning and training for a short race. Learning to set and work toward goals is an important part of improving yourself and your life.

Description

Plan and participate in a 5K run or walk. Before the activity, ask an experienced runner to talk about the benefits of exercise and teach a few running techniques. You could also invite members of the community to participate in the 5K. Create flyers or use social media to get the word out. Consider using your meetinghouse as both the starting and ending point.

As you plan this activity, please follow the counsel given in chapter 13 of Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010) and review “Safety Recommendations for Church Activities.”

More Ideas

  • Prepare to run—With the help of an expert, set up a training schedule to prepare for your 5K. You could train individually or as a group.

  • 5K theme—Work together to think of a unique theme (such as a costume race, a scavenger hunt, an obstacle course, and so on) to give the 5K a little personality.

  • Additional routes—Plan a few additional fun 5K routes in your area, write or draw the directions, and hand them out after the event so people will have options for doing more 5K walks or runs on their own.

  • 5K in one week—If you’re not ready to run a 5K all at once, break it up and run a 5K over one week. As a group, decide when and where you’re going to meet for your runs. You could run 1 kilometer (about 0.6 miles) the first day, and 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) each of the next two days.

  • 5K non-run—Instead of running or walking, participants could use bicycles, go-carts, wheelchairs, skateboards, or some other means to complete the 5K.

Discussion

Encourage participants to talk about what they are learning. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity. You could ask questions like the following:

  • Why do you think it is important to be physically active?

  • When have you been blessed by taking good care of your physical body?

  • What thoughts or impressions do you have about staying physically fit?

  • How can you apply what you are learning in your life?

Related Resources

Sabbath Day Lessons

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