The Decatur County Youth Running Club hosted its 14th annual running clinic from Monday, June 1, to Thursday, June 4. Over 80 youth from around the county participated in the clinic, featuring a variety of running games, dynamic stretches, and warm-ups led by over 30 volunteers of local high school runners, college athletes, and area coaches. The young runners, grades 2nd to 8th, also received mini-lessons in running from community members and successful runners & coaches from across Indiana. The motto for the 2026 clinic was “Run your R.A.C.E.!” Each letter of R.A.C.E. represented the topic for each day. Monday began with the letter R in the word R.A.C.E., which stood for getting “Ready” to run by eating and drinking the right foods and drinks, wearing the correct running attire, warming up and stretching properly, and building up miles gradually. On Tuesday, our topic was about having a positive “Attitude” with the letter A. In running, just as in life, it is important to be optimistic and focus on the good things to get you through the obstacles you face. Wednesday was dedicated to the letter C for “Competing” and how to approach competitions through pacing and racing strategies. On the last day of our clinic on Thursday, the youth competed in a one-mile race and ran their “R.A.C.E. with Everything”. Some of the speakers to emphasize these important points included Former Franklin College Track & Cross Country Coach Paul Sargent, Zionsville’s Track and Cross Country Coach Gabe Porras, IU Indianapolis Track and Cross Country Athlete Thomas Gorman, Purdue University Extension Community Wellness Coordinator Catherine Niese, Former Greensburg Track and Cross Country athlete Emma Wilmer, and Occupational Therapist and lifelong runner Kelsey Puckett.
At the conclusion of the clinic, the DCYRC members participated in a mile race in their specific age groups. The top 3 girls and top 3 boys in each age group earned gold, silver, and bronze medals for their performances. All the participants received DCYRC waterbottles, backpacks, and certificates at the end of the week for their successful completion of the clinic. The Decatur County Youth Running Club would like to thank its generous sponsors, who make all of this possible: Ag Productions, Bedel Security, Ben and Jill Bedel, Bill and Heather Corya, Dr. Andrew Poltrack, Phase Financial, S & B Driving School, Water-Tek, and Weigel Family Eye Care for their contributions.
Attached are the race results from the mile run on Thursday. Please note that 3 DCYRC records were broken on Thursday morning by 2nd-grade girl Miranda Moore, 6th-grade girl Gianna Scholle, and 7th-grade boy Nolan Hash. Times in red are runners’ personal record times compared to their previous DCYRC races.
