TOWSON, Md. -- Over 100 Towson student-athletes, cheerleaders and coaches helped kick off the second annual Baltimore Marathon Kids Event in Unitas Stadium on Saturday morning, October 25, 2008. 

Approximately  5,000 Baltimore area K-5 school children, accompanied by parents and teachers, ran the first lap of their journey to complete 26.2 miles, a marathon, over a six month period. The “Marathon Kids” ran their ceremonial first lap with the help and encouragement of Towson athletes and the Baltimore Road Runners. Towson’s mascot, “Doc”, was also on hand to cheer the children on and sign autographs.

Marathon Kids® is a twelve year old non-profit organization founded as a grassroots initiative. It is now in Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Rio Grande Valley, Baltimore and Chicago.There are almost 150,0000 K-5th graders participating in this nationally recognized program. The target market is children most vulnerable to sedentary lives, childhood obesity, and Type 2 diabetes. There are 294 towns and cities on the Marathon Kids waiting list, as well as 14 foreign countries.