CYCLE Kids 2011 Boston Marathon Team Guide

CYCLE Kids 2010 Boston Marathon Team Guide

Your participation on the CYCLE Kids team makes you a wonderful role model for children in the CYCLE
Kids classes. As runners for the CYCLE Kids team, you are setting an example for how physical activity
can be a fun and rewarding experience; fun because you can meet new people who share a passion with
you, and rewarding as you can use your passion to do good for others. Part of the CYCLE Kids teaching is
to expose children to the fact that exercise is a fun and rewarding experience, not only a means to
staying fit and maintaining a healthy body. Exercise is so much more than a “workout”, it can be a very
enjoyable part of their lives – for the rest of their lives.

Table of Contents

Support Team Contact List ……………………………………………………………………………….………..…..pg 2
Welcome Letter from Team Coach, Mary Johanson ..…………………………………..….………..…...pg 3
Team Event Descriptions …………………………………………………………………………………….………....pg 4
Fundraising Support ………………………………………………………………………………..……...………….....pg 6
Key Dates / Timeline at a Glance ………………………………………………………………………..……...…..pg 9
CYCLE Kids Organizational and Program Description ……………………………………….………………pg 10

CYCLE Kids 2011 Boston Marathon Team Guide Page 2

Support Team Contact List

Team Coach Mary Johanson
617-‐484-‐6548
mhjohanson@verizon.net

Assistant Director of Programming and Events Rebekah Mueller
617-‐661-‐0908
rmueller@cyclekids.org

Team Advisor and Fitness Coach Sunny Schettler
sunny@sunnydayfitness.com

Founder and Executive Director Julie Idlet
617-‐721-‐2543
jidlet@cyclekids.org

Team Supporter and Friend Carolyn Bailey
cbailey@cyclekids.org


Welcome letter from team coach, Mary Johanson!
Welcome and congratulations on being accepted to the CYCLE Kids 2011 Marathon team!

We hope to make this a fulfilling and memorable experience for you as you train for the 2011 Boston
Marathon. As a veteran of three Boston Marathon's and two Olympic Marathon Trials I can tell you how
thrilling and challenging completing those races were for me. Needless to say I have a love for sport and
from reviewing your applications I understand you share the joy!

Attached with the packet is the 2011 Boston Marathon Training Program prepared by FitCorp (check out
www.fitcorp.com and click on “Services” then “Boston Marathon Training” to download). You should
find this a very valuable tool in assisting you reach your training goals for the 2011 Boston Marathon. In
addition I will provide you with a personalized training schedule, nutrition advice, visualization
techniques and answer any questions you may have regarding your training.

We'll have a kick-‐off meeting on December 6th in Cambridge, MA. There will also be two long runs along
the marathon course scheduled along with other charities. Once the dates are confirmed, we will help
you register for these runs -‐-‐ runners will leave from Boston College and be bused to Hopkinton for
these training runs. Water, gatorade, and porto-‐potties will be provided. There is a $15.00 or $20.00 fee
associated with these runs. It would be worthwhile for all runners to plan to do these runs. So, please
stay tuned for more information!

In addition, Marathon Sports is offering us a shoe fit clinic in January (not yet scheduled). They will also
offer a discount on shoes.

I want to thank you all for supporting and fundraising for CYCLE Kids. As a teacher of the program I have
witnessed directly the positive impact and joy it brings to a child. Let's together make the fundraising
and training efforts a fulfilling and memorable experience for all.

I will be in contact with everyone, and I very much look forward to coaching the CYCLE Kids team. My
email is mhjohanson@verizon.net and phone is 617-‐484-‐6548.

Cheers and Happy Running!!

Mary Johanson
Coach, CYCLE Kids 2011 Boston Marathon Team

Team Event Descriptions

Team Meetings and Dinners
These meetings provide an opportunity to:

• get to know team members and build team spirit and support
• get reminders, tips, and information from the team's support volunteers about deadlines, key
dates, fundraising, training, nutrition, and CYCLE Kids as an organization
• provide an opportunity to learn from and brainstorm with team members on fundraising and
training. These meetings will take place in Cambridge, MA in the evening.

Dates will be communicated via email and on the blog. The first team meeting will take place at 6:30pm
on Monday, December 6 at Carolyn Bailey’s home in Cambridge.

Team Running Shoe Fitting
We have organized a private session with Marathon Sports (1654 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
MA 02138) to fit each team member with running shoes. The fitting will be most likely be scheduled in
the morning before the store opens so that we have the staff's undivided attention. Team members will
also receive a discount on any shoes they buy that morning.

Team Runs
We currently have two long team runs organized with other charity teams. These runs will take place in
the morning and water/support will be provided. This is a great opportunity to get to know your
teammates, understand race like conditions, and get motivated. For both runs you will be bussed out to
Natick and Hopkinton respectively so that you can run the actual Boston Marathon course, finishing in
Boston at the finish line.

B.A.A. Charity Clinic
This clinic is hosted by Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray and Course Director Josh
Nemzer exclusively for charity runners. The session is designed as an informative and inspirational
session addressing topics such as race day, race weekend events, registration, bib number pick-‐up,
medical, training tips, and a Q&A session. A special highlight is the many door prizes that will be offered.
Last year's prizes included: Official B.A.A. Marathon Jacket, VIP Race Day Brunch/Seating Credentials,
and a Round Trip Jet Blue Ticket.
Date: TBD March

Race Weekend Events
There is a lot going on during race weekend: Friday-‐Monday, April 15-‐17:

1) The John Hancock Sports and Fitness Expo is open on Friday 2:00pm to 7:00 pm, Saturday 9:00
am to 6:00 pm, and Sunday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston
Avenue, Boston, MA. This expo is free and open to the public and offers sports, fitness, and
nutrition booths from sponsors, charities, and other vendors. You must go to the Expo to pick up
your race day bib.
2) Pre Race Team Dinner will take place around 5pm on Sunday in Cambridge, MA. This event will
be open to family and friends in addition to runners, will provide an opportunity for out of town
team members to meet everyone, and will get the entire team and volunteers psyched for the
big day!
3) The main event is of course race day, Monday, April 18th, the 115th Boston Marathon!


Fundraising Support

Below is information to help you get started with fundraising. First is some logistical information on
deadlines and how donations can be made. Second are some ideas for fundraising. Please remember: if
you have any questions, want to bounce any ideas off someone, or are having trouble with fundraising,
please don't hesitate to contact any of the support team. Thanks so much!

Fundraising Deadlines
1) January 14, 2011 -‐ $2,500 total required
2) April 18, 2011 -‐ minimum of $3,250 required, though we hope you will all have exceeded your goals!

How donations can be made
Donations can be made to CYCLE Kids in two ways:

1) By Check or Cash
1. Checks should be made out to: CYCLE Kids, Inc. Your name should always be written in “memo”
2. You should collect all checks yourself (or have out of town friends/family mail checks to you). As
checks arrive you should keep a list of who has given and how much they have given. This will
help you keep track of thank you notes, and will provide a double check of your tally in the slight
chance that mail does not get delivered.
3. Cash donations are welcome. Please make sure that you keep track who has given you cash.
When you mail the cash to CYCLE Kids (see below) please include the donor’s name and address
so that we can thank them and send them their tax receipt.

4. Every week or two you should mail a batch of checks along with a list of all donors names,
addresses and amounts donated to CYCLE Kids at:
CYCLE Kids, Inc.
2011 Boston Marathon Team
5 JFK Street
Suite 205
Cambridge, MA 02138

2) Online with a Credit Card
Online donations can be made through www.Razoo.com/story/CYCLE-‐Kids. This webpage is the
overall CYCLE Kids donation page. You can create an individual fundraising page so that your friends
and family can easily donate directly to your solicitation and you can customize the page
with your story.

To set up your fundraising page:

1) Go to: www.Razoo.com/story/CYCLE-‐Kids.
2) Click on “Create your own fundraiser” (on the bottom right side below other fundraising pages)
3) Follow the directions that follow to set up an account and fundraising page. Please make sure
to put your full name in the “Designation” field so that we know who your supporters are
donating too!

If you need assistance in setting up your CYCLE Kids 2011 Boston Marathon donation page, or if you
have any fundraising questions, call or email Rebekah!


Fundraising Ideas

Who do you know?

• Create a list of people you know who you're comfortable asking to support you.
• Think about people you encounter on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly) who could
contribute. A few ideas: dry cleaner, hair dresser, mailman, pizza delivery person, and people at
the gym, church, social clubs, and work.

Enlist others to help

• Ask your family, friends, spouse, etc. to ask their contacts/colleagues/friends to support you.
• Get your place of business behind you – post information in an office newsletter, in peoples
mailboxes, announcements at staff meetings, advertise your run on the intranet, email blasts,
etc.
• Do the same at your church or club. Set up a table if you can and invite people to stop by.
• Ask your company to match your gifts – and ask your donors if their company will match gifts –
matching gifts DOUBLE a contribution!
• Introduce your organization's fundraising program to your child's, niece, or nephew's classroom
– make a presentation to the class about your run and the charity and ask that they help raise
funds.

Host an event

• Review who you know and find a common theme. If they enjoy wine, host a wine tasting and
charge everyone a fee to attend; let them know it's supporting your run.
• Host a holiday or birthday party and ask everyone to contribute to your organization rather than
bring a gift.
• Capitalize on upcoming events such as New Years or the Super Bowl to host a party and ask for
minimum contributions.
• Have a good relationship with your favorite local restaurant? Ask if they would donate a portion
of their sales (e.g. 10% from one night) to your run – then ask everyone you know to join you for
dinner there.
• Know a gourmet chef (or even a really good cook)? Ask them to prepare a meal for your friends
and charge $20 each; tell them the money supports your organization.

Be a change bandit!

• If you buy yourself a cup of coffee every day, put that money toward your run for the next five
months. See how quickly $3 a day adds up.
• At the end of each day, throw your spare change in a jar. Ask family and friends to do the same.
Or set up a canister at work and ask others to help, too.
• Do you have your own business or profitable hobby? Donate a percentage of your fee (or all of it
for a certain amount of time) to your organization. Advertise it – you'll get more business,
guaranteed!

You are newsworthy

• Contact your local newspaper and tell them what you're doing. They may want to run a
story on you.

Letter campaigns and face to face encounters

• Write your letter, and then know your audience! For some folks, U.S. Mail is the trick, for
others email works better.
• Tailor your letter appropriately. What will move your friend or colleague to help you? Is it
helping you meet an extraordinary personal goal? Is it a touching story about the kids you
will help? Tell your story in a way that works for you.
• If you mail letters, place a stamp on the return envelope. People are more likely to send
back a gift if you give them the stamp.
• Include the link to the website and instructions for online giving in both letters and emails to
make it easy. Also include a mailing address if U.S. Mail is preferred.
• If you have the opportunity, ask people in person to contribute, or follow up on that email
or letter with a personal solicitation (when you see them at the next dinner outing or office
meeting or call them on the phone to catch up). People are less likely to say no when you
ask them face-‐to-‐face.
• If you don't hear back from people, follow up! People want to help but can be forgetful –
don't let that be the reason they don't support you.
• Include information about the charity in your letters/email – the powerful stories of who
you will be helping with your fundraising will help.

How much should I tell people?

• Be proud of your run and tell everyone!
• Share your fundraising goal with people. Let them know your deadlines so they know when
to contribute.
• Stay in touch with people, even those who have not contributed, and let them know how
the training and fundraising campaign is going. People want to know and will need the
reminder!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

• Send a handwritten thank you to your donor soon after they contribute.
• Follow up with another thank you after the race and let folks know how you did – give them
details of your experience and include a picture if possible.


Key Dates / Timeline at a Glance

Date Deadline/Event

Monday, December 6, 2010 Event: Team Meeting and Dinner, Cambridge, MA

Friday, December 31, 2010 Deadline: Submit B.A.A. Boston Marathon Application to Rebekah

Friday, January 14, 2011 Deadline: Reach $2,500 in Fundraising

Monday, February 7, 2011 Event: Team Meeting and Dinner, Cambridge, MA (Tentative)

Saturday, February 12, 2011 Team Run: 16 Miles, Boston, MA (AM) (Tentative)

TBA in March 2011 Event: B.A.A. Charity Clinic and Team Meeting, Boston, MA

Saturday, March 25, 2011 Team Run: 21 Miles, Boston Marathon Course (AM) (Tentative)

Monday, April 4, 2011 Event: Team Meeting and Dinner, Cambridge, MA (Tentative)

April 15, 16, 17, 2011 Event: Boston Marathon Expo and Bib Number Pick-‐Up

Sunday, April 17, 2011 Event: Pre-‐race Team, Family, and Friends Dinner, Cambridge, MA

Monday, April 18, 2011 RACE DAY: RUN 113th BOSTON MARATHON!!!
FUNDRAISING GOAL: REACH $5,000 or more!!!

Note: Arrangements are being made for the team to have a running shoe fitting at Marathon Sports,
Cambridge, MA. This will happen on a Saturday morning.

CYCLE Kids Organizational and Program Description

About CYCLE Kids
CYCLE Kids is dedicated to addressing childhood obesity by introducing healthy lifestyles to inner city
children through the use of bicycles. CYCLE Kids uses the bicycle to instill in children a love of physical
activity and to build their understanding of the necessity for eating healthy foods. The program
provides opportunities for intellectual stimulation, physical activity, and the teaching of good nutritional
habits that encourage the development of a child’s emotional well being. Our experience has shown
that teaching bike skills is a powerful way to engage a child in this learning, and that this can have a
profound impact on their lives, and that of their families and their communities.

THE PROGRAM
The CYCLE Kids curriculum is a healthy life-‐style bicycle-‐based curriculum that teaches children through
physical education classes for the 4th – 6th grades:
- How to ride a bike
- Bike/road safety skills
- Basic bike mechanics
- The importance of an active lifestyle and healthy nutritional habits

The curriculum achieves these goals by using:
- Student guidebooks
- One-‐on-‐one and group instructions
- Food and exercise journals
- Bicycle exercises

Once a school purchases the CYCLE Kids curriculum, we provide discounted bikes and helmets, in-‐person
teacher training, and a workbook-‐based class curriculum, while the school or community center staff is
responsible for implementing the 8-‐session program. The program has been developed for elementary
school children, grades 4 to 6. The curriculum is appropriate for all three grades, allowing partners
flexibility in how they choose to roll-‐out the program.

Our initial focus is on inner-‐city children. In general, the population we aim to serve looks like the
following:

- Ages: 8 to 13 years old
- Gender: Male and Female
- Income Level: Family Incomes below $50,000
- 45% African American, 31% Latino, 15% Asian, 9% White

With all the focus on needing to add more exercise to our lives to encourage healthier lifestyles, and the
environmental push to walk and ride bikes in lieu of driving short distances, CYCLE Kids is really poised to
grow, and with support, rather quickly. In a time of scarce educational resources, when physical
education programs are being cut, CYCLE kids creates the possibility for regular physical activity by
providing access to bicycles and teaching children to ride. It also exposes children to knowledge crucial
for their academic and personal growth-‐-‐everything from the basics of good nutrition and physical

mechanics to an awareness of physiology and the environment-‐-‐in a fun and relaxed setting. Students
have take-‐home assignments which encourages parental participation. CYCLE kids transforms
communities from the ground-‐up, energizing children who will educate parents and mobilize
neighborhoods around healthy, safe, and environmentally-‐sustainable physical activities.

INTENDED IMPACT
Through establishing the CYCLE Kids program in targeted U.S. cities, we will:
- Create and disseminate a seamless curriculum that uses the bicycle to teach a broad spectrum
of skills and knowledge relevant to elementary school children (physical activity, nutrition, and
science principles).
- Inspire a love of bicycling among some program participants that will endure past their
experience in CYCLE Kids, and will enrich their lives.
- Affect families’ knowledge of physical exercise and nutrition through the children bringing their
CYCLE Kids learning into their homes.
- Incorporate bicycling as a viable component of physical education programs in inner-‐city public
schools.
- Create momentum for investments in more bike-‐friendly environments in urban centers, from
the establishment of new cycling clubs for inner-‐city children to changes in the built
environment that accommodates bicyclists.


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