An Extra Run to Relieve the Stress

One of the boys from St. Charles is really beginning to understand and internalize the way running can help him handle stress.  This little guy, whom I will call Jimmy, has lived in more than 12 foster homes in his short life, and is getting ready to move into yet another one.  Needless to say, he is agitated.  Since he has not yet experienced a permanent home that was right for him, he has a lot of anxiety about moving to this next home.  The way he sees it, why should he expect this home to be any different from the others?

Last week, Jimmy asked Sister Maximilian if he could go with her on her second run.  Ordinarily Sister Maximilian runs 8 miles a day.  The first 4 miles are with the more experienced group of kids who run a little faster.  The second 4 miles are with beginners.  Ordinarily, she would not allow a child to run 8 miles in one day. However, given Jimmy's level of stress and the fact that he was asking for the extra time running, she approved.  Jimmy had a great run and one of the nicest evenings he has had in a while. Sister was excited because this showed that he really is starting to understand how running can affect the way he feels.  We don't know if he will ask for an extra run again, but  if he does, Sister will allow him to put in an extra 4 miles every once in a while.  Hopefully, this will be a lesson he takes with him into adulthood to help him cope with the stresses of life.

Welcome to Running with Kids

Welcome to Running with Kids!  This is a blog about the running program which the sisters at St. Charles Children’s Home began a few years ago to help kids manage their behaviors.  As it turns out, the running helps the sisters too!  There will be more contributors joining this blog, but in the meantime I thought I would get started by telling you our story. 

In the summer of 1996, Sister Maximilian began running every day with Rose (pictured here).  Rose was the most volatile and aggressive child then living at St. Charles Children’s Home in Rochester, New Hampshire.  One day we had a family meeting with all the kids to talk about violent behavior and what we could do to decrease it in our home.  The kids listed many ideas of how they could release negative energy without hurting each other. 

A daily walk seemed to be the best intervention for Rose at the time.  By the end of the summer, those walks turned into daily runs.  Through the daily run, Sister Maximilian found a way to channel Rose’s incredible anger in a positive way.  Soon, the boys became jealous of Rose’s running achievements and the fact that she was getting into less trouble, and they wanted to run every day too.  With the whole St. Charles family involved, aggressive behaviors by the children were reduced in the Home by over 97%.  It was not long before the Sisters and the children began appearing in road races throughout New Hampshire. 

Over 13 years later, the Sisters continue running daily with the kids.  More about how we do it in another post.