The KiDSMARATHON Foundation has teamed up with Charity Teams – a company which helps non-profit organisations and athletes achieve their goals. In 2024, we had a team of 16 runnners in the TCS New York City Marathon, and for 2025 we will have runners in the Sydney and TCS New York City Marathons. We continue to talk with other race organisers and will add other cities throughout the year.

More than 800 marathons are organised every year, but only six have the title of World Marathon Major: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and New York City Marathon.

The KiDSMARATHON program is an eight to ten week “In School” running and nutrition educational program that enable the kids to complete a full marathon (26.2 miles) by running approximately 3 miles per week, and at the end of the program, the kids from the participating schools are encouraged to complete the final mile together, and they collect their medals at the finishing line. The KiDSMARATHON Foundation initially supplies schools with medals for the kids as they finish their final mile, jibbets for shoes/shirts, training guides which the kids complete during their journey, and stickers and stars for the guide. It is not always possible, but Rod has often attended the final mile, to personally hand out the medals and copies of his 1973 NYCM marathon finish print which the kids often ask him to sign.

Getting started is always daunting, and to help the schools and the teachers, the Foundation initially supplies the schools with starting materials as they begin the program with the kids, and then to encourage the schools to continue the program with locally sourced materials more specific to their own regions, but this often takes more than just the first year, until their own programs become self-sustaining. A good example of this can be found at the 2025 Torrington Kids Marathon held in Litchfield County, CT, USA.

The Foundation has supplied training vests for the runners, and covers any incurred costs for the professionals that have helped us prepare the runners for these marathons. In the past, the Foundation has also supplied wristbands for the kids, and jackets and t-shirts for the teachers/coaches with the KiDSMARATHON and tortoise logo on them.

If you are interested in running in the 2025 New York City Marathon on November 2nd by raising funds for the Foundation, learn more and apply here.