Let Me Run - St. Louis

The Mission of Let Me Run is to inspire boys in 3rd through 8th grades through the power of running to be courageous enough to be themselves, to build healthy relationships, and to live an active lifestyle.

While Let Me Run coaches guide boys through proper training to run a 5K, Let Me Run offers participants far more than they typically experience when participating in other sports. Let Me Run coaches combine running and exercise with fun activities to inspire boys to develop emotional self-awareness, self-acceptance, healthy relationships, and to live active lifestyles, while counteracting unhealthy expectations from society that pressure boys to act in ways that prevent them from being themselves, connecting with others, and expressing emotions, which can lead to isolation, stress, sickness, violence, and limited academic performance. The knowledge and skills gained through participation in Let Me Run are an essential intervention to help empower young men to build a lifetime of good health and personal success.

Trained volunteer coaches conduct Let Me Run through two 75-minute sessions each week over a seven-week season. Each after-school session includes a supervised run, lessons, and fun activities that encourage boys to build confidence, develop integrity, and socially interact in positive ways. While learning skills to build personal achievement, the boys also boys learn about teamwork and how to be dependable team members by being respectful, responsible, honest, and flexible. Each seven-week season culminates with a 5K race to celebrate the success of each boy's accomplishments in the program.

Let Me Run provides the opportunity to participate in Let Me Run for all boys, regardless of their ability to pay. By funding scholarships for economically disadvantaged participants, we are providing these boys, who are likely facing other challenges and life stresses, the opportunity to be included and inspired to improve their emotional and physical health and to build a foundation for living long, healthy, and productive lives.

The impact of Let Me Run as an intervention tool to promote positive behaviors and attitudes has been supported by evidence gathered through a ground-breaking study of healthy masculinity in boys, conducted by the Institute to Promote Athlete Health and Wellness of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which examined the impact of Let Me Run and found that the nonprofit program:
• Improves boys' attitudes and behaviors associated with healthy masculinity
• Improves boys' social competence
• Increases the vigorous physical activity of boys
• Reduces boys' screen time on school days
These findings also affirm anecdotal feedback Let Me Run receives from coaches, parents, and participants: the boys feel better about themselves, value the friendships they gain, enjoy supporting each other in setting and working toward personal goals, and they do better and have better focus in school and at home.