Staying active in the winter months is important for all ages, and an easy way to do that is with Saturday Morning at the Races, organized by the Young Athletes Foundation a program created by Grandma’s Marathon.

On a snowy Saturday in Duluth, the Saint Scholastica gym was packed to the brim with 400 young athletes between the ages of 4 and 14 ready to get some energy out.

The Saturday Morning at the Races series is a way for kids to get their bodies moving during the snowy weeks of the winter.

“We’re trying to instill in them the habits of being active and being healthy,” said Zach Schneider, the Marketing and Public Relations Director of Grandma’s Marathon. “Whether that means you go play soccer or you go play hockey or volleyball, whatever it is in the future, we want them to get out, move their bodies, be active. Through the winter, it’s really important to provide this outlet for the kids.”

For the younger participants, they only ran around the track once, and older participants end up running half of a mile.

“Just making it fun, one lap around the track is really good,” said Tim Wilson, a Duluth resident. “It’s not too much for them or too overwhelming, it’s just fun for the kids.”

The exposure to the event for kids is exactly what those at Grandma’s are aiming for, even for those that can’t walk yet.

“We have our three-year-old Tate today running with his mom,” said Wilson, who also had a younger child with him. “This guy will hopefully get into it in the future.”

While the event may seem minuscule for some, for the kids running, this was the real deal.

“Although it’s a very much scaled down event compared to a Grandma’s Marathon, to these kids, this is their Grandma’s Marathon,” said Schneider. “This is their time on the big stage, and so we want hem to feel special. We want them to feel important and it’s fun because that’s how you get them coming back and doing more. Maybe there’s a future Grandma’s Marathon champion int he mix here, who knows?”

Saturday Morning at the Races next runs at the University of Minnesota Duluth on January 20th, and the University of Wisconsin-Superior will host on their campus on February 3rd.

Sign ups can be found here.