Blue Cross Blue Shield Kids Marathon
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama Kids Marathon is an innovative, endurance building program for children in kindergarten (K5) through 5th grades (runners must be at least 5 years old on race day.)
Participants run the distance of a full marathon (26.2 miles) over the course of the program. To achieve this goal, kids must train for the last mile of their marathon by running a total of 25.2 miles in 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, 3/4 mile or 1 mile increments between registration and race day to qualify for race day participation. There are NO official winners, but the event is timed so your child can chart their progress from the beginning of their training until the event.
Students run in PE class and/or with a parent and keep a running log sheet to track their progress. Participating schools can enroll in digital runner tracking through Marathon Kids (click for info). Mileage is based on adult supervision and the honor system. As each child completes the final mile on the actual marathon course on event day they receive a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama Kids Marathon finisher’s medal on the track at Spain Park High School in Hoover.
5th graders kick off the race with each grade following in 15 minute waves (approximately). Details for start location and times will be confirmed by email ahead of the event.
2026 START TIMES WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN JANUARY. REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE AND EMAIL UPDATE REGARDING START TIMES.
5th graders (black t-shirts)
4th graders (yellow t-shirts)
3rd graders (green t-shirts)
2nd graders (white t-shirts)
1st graders (blue t-shirts)
Kindergarteners (red t-shirts)
Children Running with Parents – All grades K-5th
Only coaches wearing official race t-shirts and coaches race bibs are allowed to run in any grade wave.
Parents will NOT be allowed to run with their child unless they previously purchased a parent bib when they registered their child. Parents will NOT be allowed to run with strollers or unregistered younger or older siblings during the event on race day. It is our goal to keep the children safe and keep anyone not registered off of the course for safety reasons.
This race is timed, but there are no winners and no awards will be given out. Your child will have a timing device on the back of their race bib so they can compare their timing progress from the beginning of their training in the fall until race day. Race times will be listed on our web site by bib number only; not by their name. The timing is done by chip time, not gun time which means it will be an accurate time from the starting pad to the finish line so there is no need to push your child to the front of the line. This event is to help children learn about a healthy lifestyle with a major component being exercise.
Our first priority is the safety of your children. Unless there is a weather danger to the children, we will still run. Cold weather will not stop the race nor will rain, unless there are storms associated with it. Snow has never been an issue. Be sure they wear their race shirt as the outer layer with their bib number attached to the shirt.
REGISTER ONLINE: https://www.bcbsalkidsmarathon.com
