Fourth-graders place at Trolley Run

By Michael Westblade

The fourth-grade track club at the upper elementary saw top finishes at the Kids’ Trolley Run, a four-mile timed run to benefit the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired at Mill Creek Park April 27 in Kansas City.

In their age group, 1 to 10, the club had four girls place in the top five and one boy who missed fifth place by only 29 seconds. Amy Boynton, one of the teachers in charge of the club, said she was excited about the results of the run.

“This is a big deal,” she said. “We’ve never had this many place before.”

All the children who placed said they didn’t expect to place so well and Kylee Knot, who placed third, said she was shocked at how well she did.

“I didn’t think I was going to place that high,” she said. “It was kind of hard, because there were a lot of people there.”

Stephanie Maddick, who placed fourth, said she was stunned by her place as well.

“I felt pretty surprised,” she said. “I didn’t think I was that fast and I just started concentrating and I just ran.”

For some, the race was for competition’s sake and for others it was just a good time. Knot said she entered the run for a new challenge.

“I like running a lot and I’ve been doing five kilometer runs a lot, so I thought a four mile run would be more challenging,” she said. “It was cool and we got to see dogs and people and some of Kansas City.”

Megan Long, who finished 4/10 of a second ahead of Knot, said she did the run because she just liked running with her classmates.

“When you run it’s kind of fun if you have your friends with you, because you can talk to them,” she said, with Knot adding, “and you can win things just by running.”

For others, running is just in their blood, like Eleanor Hofmeister, who placed fifth.

“I like running; it’s fun,” she said. “I think it’s just a natural thing, because my mom was a runner. My mom pushes me. She has a top priority that we have to make it this far.”

The fourth-grade track club is the brainchild of Boynton and Kassie Daugherty, 4th grade teachers at the Upper Elementary. The club meets twice a week before school to run two miles and they occasionally participate in running events like the Trolley Run.

Boynton said the club didn’t have any more events planned for the year, but they will start back up again next year in a different form, with Boynton coaching a third-grade club and Daugherty coaching a fifth-grade club.

Staff writer Michael Westblade can be reached at 532-4444 or michaelwestblade@npgco.com.