Mercer Island Elementary Students Train for March 24 Rotary Half Marathon Event

Over 70 Mercer Island elementary-grade students are getting ready for one of the biggest community event on the rock - Mercer Island Rotary Half Marathon. 

Island resident and veteran runner, Susan Empey, volunteers to help kids to get ready for 5K and 10K run at Mercer Island Rotary Half Marathon on March 24. All the kids are from the local 3 elementary schools, some are experienced runners, and some are first timer. Kids are excited to run with their friends, and participate in this great community event.

In the last several Friday mornings, over 70 kids gather at IMS early in the morning.  They start their run from IMS track field, then circle around Pioneer Park in the south end of the island, and back to IMS. That's about 5K in total.

Every year, thousands of runners and walkers cross the finish line at the annual springtime running of Mercer Island Rotary's Half Marathon which includes 10K and 5K races along with a Kids' Dash, all designed to help raise funds and awareness to fight colon cancer and to benefit an array of other charitable causes supported by the Mercer Island Rotary Club Foundation.

While the 10K race is for runners only, both the 13.1-mile half marathon and the 5K welcome walkers as well as runners. From the starting line on the outskirts of Luther Burbank Park on the northern end of the island, the race unfolds along an out-and-back course that takes a clockwise loop around the island and features a wealth of rolling hills along the way, as well as a few uphill and downhill challenges. The race starts at an elevation of about 75 feet above sea level and dips to a low of about 30 feet in the first mile of the race, which is followed by a gradual climb over the next few miles to about 150 feet above sea level by the time runners reach the 3.5-mile point in the race, along the island's eastern shore.

To register, volunteer or find out more on the Rotary’s Half Marathon, visit: http://www.mercerislandhalf.com/

Editor's note: The headline of the story has been changed to clarify that the students are running in the 5K and 10K portions of this event