Now in its second year, Clearview Elementary’s Morning Mile program is going strong. Every morning before the school day starts the students walk/run outside (weather permitting) or inside for around 20 minutes.

The Morning Mile program was started by Clearview physical education teacher George Bienusa last year to give students the chance to actively start each day with music and friends. The goal of the initiative is to increase activity and help fight childhood obesity.

The students were given a challenge in October to earn a free pair of athletic shoes for the boy and girl with the top miles walked. The shoes were donated by the Dana Laudenbach family. Laudenbach was a former cook at Clearview who passed away this summer.

Winners of the challenge were second-grader Blake Rothfork with 28.33 miles as the top boy, and first-grader Kenzie Capes with 16.66 miles as the top girl.

Bienusa took the students and their parents to Scheels so they could pick out their own shoes. Rothfork came home with a pair of blue and yellow Under Armours, and Capes brought home a pair of light blue ones.

In the first two months of school Clearview students walked/ran 5,016.25 miles, with the top students going 43.33 miles. Of the 402 students, 398 recorded laps during this time.