Diplomat Elementary 5K race Saturday; help build a playground
The community has an opportunity to help Diplomat Elementary School improve recess for its nearly 1,000 students by taking part in a fundraiser to build a new playground.
The Run for Recess 5K will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday at the school at 1115 NE 16th Terrace.
Registration is $25 for adults and $20 for kids and can be done at www.runsignup.com/runforrecess.
Runners can also register at 7 a.m. Saturday.
“Everyone is worried about school budgets these days. Our playground is built for 500 to 600 kids max. We have almost 1,000 kids now. The chance of getting a new playground is slim, unless we are proactive about that,” said PE coach and American Ninja Warrior Veteran Morgan “Moose” Wright.
Exercising and play are important for children, he added.
“The most efficient way to get kids to play is get them a darn playground,” Wright said. “Kids make their own fun on a playground.”
The initial hope was to attract 100 runners for the 5K, which they had surpassed as of Monday evening with well over 200 participants.
“Two-hundred was our dream goal. It’s nice seeing the community step up and help out with something,” he said. “I’m not going to waste their time with a poor experience for a run. No one likes to have a bad race, or bad run, even when ‘for a good cause.”
The race is a 5K chip timed run with awards given to the top three male and female overall finishers; top three finishers ages seven and older and top three male and female finishers in age groups 8-10, 11-14, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39 and 40 and older.
There will be a pre-race warm-up with Wright using various collections of Fortnite dances. He said stretching is counterproductive for running.
“You will never see a top athlete randomly warming up,” Wright said, adding that they are moving around. “I jog a mile before I run a 5K. I am a big fan of moving and being funny with a warmup.”
The Fortnite dynamic warmup is for the race kids and their families.
“All the kids will be over by me with their parents having a good time”
Race snacks such as coffee, water, bananas, peanut butter and protein bars will be available.
Wright is a retired Army veteran of 14 years who served 16 months in Afghanistan. He has been named PE Teacher of the Year four times, as well as being named a Golden Apple Award recipient.
“I love teaching PE. I literally get paid to play steal the bacon,” he said laughing. “School is a place for work and education vigor. They should get socialization time. The playground is when they learn to interact.”
Wright, who is known for wearing his moose hat, has been a competitor in seasons eight, nine and 10 of American Ninja Warrior.
“I run around competing in a silly moose hat because it makes kindergarten kids pay attention,” he said. “I am 44. I am having a lot of fun with it because it helps kids buy into PE better.”
Due to his experience on America Ninja Warrior, Wright created an elective fitness testing program. If the students choose to take the test, he gives them certificates.
“It opens up each month. It starts off easy and becomes challenging,” he said of school qualifiers, school finals and national final stage.
Kids Ninja Fitness, a fully inclusive program, uses motivation, as well as goal-setting, to help students become fitness lovers for a lifetime. As part of the program, Wright receives videos from Ninja Warriors that are presented on the school news to help motivate the kids.
“The new playground is a big deal because it makes school fun. PE should be the Disneyland of school every day. It’s not even play. It’s how physical education builds social skills,” he said.