On Tuesday, March 25, 2013 at 4:30 p.m., Rod Dixon and Ryan Gomes will be at North End Middle School in Waterbury to kick-off KiDSMARATHON - CT and to announce which area schools will be participating in the program.

Rod Dixon’s KiDSMARATHON™ – CONNECTICUT (CT), began in June 0f 2007 with a kids’-runners clinic, sponsored by Litchfield’s Parks & Recreation Department, as part of the annual Litchfield Hills Road Race activities.

KiDSMARATHON-CT was piloted and later expanded statewide in 2010, offered by the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) to 1,000 public and parochial-member schools (for kids ages 7 through 12).  Over an eight-week period beginning in April, students will run during school, after school and on weekends until they have totaled 26.2 miles, or the distance of a marathon.  The event is being realized in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Waterbury, Waterbury Police Activities League, Greater Waterbury YMCA, Waterbury Board of Education, and Ryan Gomes Foundation.

Who is Rod Dixon?
For 17 years, Rod Dixon was one of the best middle stance runners in the world.  He is an Olympic Medalist, two-time world cross-country champion medalist and the 1500m champion of the United States, France, Great Britain and New Zealand.  In the Pacific Conference Games, he won two gold medals and was a two-time World Masters Champion.  Rod Dixon won the 1983 New York City Marathon, was the #1 runner in the United States road running, represented New Zealand at four Olympic Games and was a coach for the Fiji Olympic team.  Ron now focuses his time on helping kids learn to love running as much as he does.