“His face changed when he passed that finish line, with his peers cheering for him at the end. His little bit of confidence he had the next practice said, ‘Yup, I did this. I can do hard things.’” 

This is the story of a Canaan, NH Elementary School runner who, after completing the one mile Cam’s course with his mom in his first CHaD Hero, set out to run  the three mile course the following year. For this runner, who has limited mobility, “it was a huge, huge accomplishment to run the full three miles,” says coach, Maranda Bashaw. But this runner’s story isn’t unique. At 33 sites across the Upper Valley, Finding Our Stride coaches foster a culture of accessibility, resilience, and community - for all runners.

Half of the students at Canaan Elementary School, 94 runners grades K-4, run with Finding Our Stride. Kids of all abilities are welcome on the team. “We have kids who run all practice, kids who run and walk, and kids who walk the whole time. And it’s all okay, we’re still out there, we’re still a team, we’re still participating, we’re getting exercise.”

The same is true at Bethel, VT Elementary School, according to former coach, Chris Fors. “It really is open to everybody. Some of those kids maybe never would have participated in a movement activity or sport, but because they [felt] like they could, a lot of them really excelled.” In addition to being open to runners of all levels, FOS is completely free, provides shoe vouchers to kids who need them, schedules practice directly after school to limit transportation hurdles, and provides a healthy snack each practice. 

Says Canaan coach, Allison Porreca, “Finding Our Stride helps us get started and then we can set it up for parents to make it accessible. We’ve removed a lot of the barriers. It doesn’t cost parents anything, and it’s at school with adults they trust. You just show up with what you wear at school and you’re set to go.” Canaan coaches send paper registration forms home with every student to ensure families without internet access can sign up, including one eager first grader who ran up to Porreca with his form at 7:45 am exclaiming, “I wanted to be the first to register!”

“It’s become an institution,” says Fors, who built the trails behind Bethel Elementary that the team uses each practice. At the end of each Bethel season, the whole school comes out to cheer on the FOS team. Likewise, “You can hear the kids talking about it in the hallways – you can feel the excitement,” says Bashaw of the Canaan program “They feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. It’s an individual sport, but it’s a team sport. They still have a team.”