Frequently Asked Questions?!

 When are you running?

Spring club is meeting Wednesdays and Fridays, 3:15 to 4:15 after school.  We meet in the gym to sign in, then head outside.

Summer club will be meeting Monday and Friday mornings, during the weeks of summer school (6/15 to 7/17), at the Shawano High School, from 6:45 to 7:45 am.  Meet by the pool door.  We are able to use the gym if it is stormy.  We will be able to use the high school locker room to wash/change afterwards.  Middle school students and mature 2nd graders may also join us.  Parents are definitely encouraged to join us as well.  Please email yuchinfang@yahoo.com to sign up. 

Fall club.  We will try to start as soon as kids are back in school, maybe first week of September, so that we can get kids ready for the 1.75 mile races late September and early/mid October!  Look for info at Back to School Night!  We will probably go back to practicing on Wednesdays and Fridays after school.

How does my child earn a club T shirt?

Runners were given incentives to earn a club T shirt (bright yellow was chosen because we like to be visible on the run).  First is a running incentive--either run in a race, or complete 20 laps around the field during practices.  Second is a service incentive--either bring in a bag of food or jar of change as donation to the local food pantry; or volunteer to pick up garbage on our school grounds before/after practice.

Many kids met both requirements right away!  Many of our kids were eager to help keep the school grounds clean.  Some kids volunteered to rake in the community.  We also collected over 80 pounds of food for the Shawano Area Food Pantry.  Way to go!

How can I help?


Be supportive of the runners.  We also can use help with practices--help with drills, directing kids, keeping an eye so they do not wonder off into the woods or playgrounds, encouraging kids, etc.  Of course, exercising with kids is a great way to spend quality time with them.  There are studies that show that kids of parents who exercise are more likely to be physically active.  You do not necessarily have to run in order to help out.

Please email any other questions to yuchinfang@yahoo.com.

Who we are

Part of the club, on a sunny spring Friday, ready to run.

Skipping drill, warming up for run.

Watch for this rising star!  Josiah Kuehl is only 6 years old, but he's quick!  The Force is with him!  He is followed by Alex Montour, a dedicated 3rd grader.

3/4 speed sprint drill.

We are kids who like to run, and parents and teacher(s) who volunteer to organize and train them.

We work on developing endurance, while training with our peers.

With the rate of childhood obesity near 30%, and raising rate of adult obesity in the country, we are fighting the statistics. 

We practice good sportsmanship.

We are fortunate to have Mrs. Leeman, who started the fall running club years ago, organize and train kids to participate in local cross country races with the middle school team.  As Mrs. Leeman is retiring after this school year, we are hoping another teacher can help with coordinating the club in the future.

Our typical work out in 45-60 minutes:  sign in, dynamic warm up, run 1/2 to 1 1/2 miles, drills for speed or core work, speed games, cool down with stretching and balance work.  

We also try to cover some topics relating to sports, injury prevention, hydration, techniques of breathing and running, etc.

We welcome feedback, comments, and of course, any assistance on the runs! 
 

What have you learned from running club?

"There is no try, only do."  Master Yoda. 

"It doesn't matter how fast you run, as long as you try."  Alli Johnson.

"These kids can really sprint!  Just watch them play sharks and minnows, or capture the flag!"  Joe Guenther.

"Kids love to eat watermelon after a race."  Yu-Chin Fang

UPCOMING AREA RACES

Why run a race?  Coach Joe says, "It's a chance for a runner to challenge him/herself.  It gives a runner something to work towards."

When running next to others, it challenges me to run faster, work harder, instead of just daydreaming, or thinking about how my foot is hurting.

So, here are more area races coming up SOON for Brener runners, and parents, to consider:

6/20, Saturday, East Green Bay Family Fun Run.  5k at 9 am.  1/2 mile kids run 8:30, up to 10 years of age.  Benefits Jared Gehm Memorial Scholarship for Preble High School cross country students.

6/27, Saturday, Embarrass Fire Dept 5k Walk/Run at 9 am.  Family/group rate is $10 w/o shirt; or $20 w/ shirt.  Medals are awarded to top 3 times in each category.

7/4, Leopolis Triatholon.  Beer belly division is swim/tread 50 years across a pond; 4 mile bike ride; 1.5 mile run.  Beer belly is not required, of course.  Last year there was 2 guys who did it dressed up and rode a tandem bike; their times did not count towards awards, of course.  Every year there are a few kids who use noodles or life jackets for the swim.  One year a kid did it with training wheels on.

Start of the swim at Leopolis.

7/11, Soggy Bottom 5k run/walk, Tilleda.  Finishes at Annie's Campground.  9 am.  Nice play areas at Annie's for the kids.

Jumpy pillow at Annie's.

8/1, Shawano Optimist Mountain Bay Run.  Kids 1/2 mile at 9:30 only $5.  5k at 8:30 am.  https://runsignup.com/Race/WI/Shawano/ShawanoOptimistMountainBay5KRun

8/4 Tuesday 5:30 pm, Run to Read Color Run, Marion Family Night Out at Lion's Point.  Supports Marion library and elementary school.  $12 per person, or $10 per person for family/club of 3 or more.  2 mile, noncompetitive run/walk with obstacles and color. https://bf1-attach.ymail.com/internal.dl-mail.ymail.com/ws/download/mailboxes/@.id==NzQzNDI4OTIwIDE2MTAxMyAxNjEwIHl1Y2hpbmZhbmdAeWFob28uY29t/messages/@.id==2_0_0_2_2165074_ALPmjkQAAA-SVaVTeAN-iPjTmiM/content/parts/@.id==2.4/raw?appid=YahooMailNeo&token=3s8UqyF0QEr1v1eg7hwTp5WMk3mebsB8Z-fwJZr1xmd4CHOvCgkDO7RIc-kV5b0c4QS589m2ULn4HOf3kMCF_g&ymreqid=1d6a6d13-1a4a-819b-01d0-710014010000

9/2 Thursday, Choose to Move 5k, support Rural Health Initiative at Shawano Fair.  6:30 pm.

Sat  9/26 8 am Apple Creek 5K trail run at Apple Creek YMCA.  Kids fun run (1 mile? for kids 12 and under) at 9:15 am.  $8/child for nonmembers, Contact Chelsey Latimer clatimer@ymcafoxcities.org

Cloverleaf 3.5 mile Oct 3?

Goose Gander 5k run/walk to benefit St. Joe Food Pantry, Sat Oct 10 8 am.  Bridgewood Resort, Neenah.  Register online at active.com




Freaky 5k Sat 10/31 8 am at Pierce Park in Appleton.  Kids 1/4 mile Monster Dash.  Register at www.active.com.  Many people run in costumes, including dogs!

And possibly, 10/30, Run for Shelter!  Costume 1 mile run at Brener by the Club?  To benefit SAM 25 homeless shelter.  Stay tuned...

Will post more interesting races as we find them...

Navarino Nature Center Race

It was a beautiful day for a trail run!  It warmed up to the upper 40's, and the sun came out to greet us!  Naturalist Tim Ewing said they had put in extra work the day before to get the trails ready.  The board walk were under water, so the guys had to put on waders and get in the swamp to lift the board walks out of the water!  There was only a few muddy patches.  There were over 200 participants registered this year in the different races.

We had six kids from our Brener club participate, besides our 6 grader Claire, and 1st grader Jill.  Mr. Kuehl was also there with his kids.  We also saw the Onestis there from Shawano as well, who did the 5k. 

We were all very anxious to get going on the 1 mile race. There were 31 kids total who finished the 1 mile race. They waited until everyone were done from the 10k and 5k, just so that the kids would not be confused with the different turns on the trails.  We ended up with many medals.  My 6th grader Claire took first, since she's used to running 1600 m in track, with time of 7:35.  Lily Guenther and Jackson Boucher tied for 3rd at 8:35.  Thomas Keszo took 5th with 8:43.  Alex Montour took 7th with 9:02.  Mr. Kuehl's 6 year old son Josiah came in right after him at 8th place with 9:05!  Adan Reedy, Ethan Pleshek, Scott Baller, also completed the race.  This is the 3rd time my 6 year old Jill has finished a 1 mile race.

Coach Joe ended up 3rd overall for the 5k, and would have been 1st in his age group, except they pulled all the "club" runners and mentors out of the regular race rankings.  He still made respectable time of 21:04.  "Not bad for only running 2 days a week!"  

I lucked out with a medal for 3rd female mentor.  Not bad for only running 2 miles a day, and less than 2 weeks from foot surgery to remove a cyst!  27:19.  A cute little 8 year old girl from the Clintonville running club ran me over at the end!

The nature center had a variety of crafts and activities after the race to celebrate Earth Day.  We came home with walking sticks, decorated frogs, sand art, and got to pet live pheasants and hang out with snakes.

We hope that next year, we can have a bigger group of kids and parents, trained and ready to run the 5k race!

Lining up for 1 mile start.  Many parents and mentors ran with the kids.

Scott is really going for it!  It started with a sprint up a sandy hill.

Lily took first in age group 6-10 female.

Adan Reedy running with dad.

Joe running with Scott on the final stretch.

Jill and I finishing the 1 mile.  We talked about the mountain of cookies at the finish line while running.

Evie Kuehl got a medal for age group female 5 and under.  Josiah Kuehl also ran beautifully!

Jackson Boucher got first in male age 6-10.

Start of 1 mile.  You can see Ethan Pleshek, closest, really concentrating at the start.

Jackson Boucher and Thomas Keszo meeting up at the start of race.