NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH) — Nearly a thousand students from the Hartford area warmed up and then laced up their running shoes to run their “final mile” at Walnut Hill Park in New Britain.

It was the culmination of the Hartford Marathon Foundation’s Fit Kids in School Medal Day. The five-week program introduces students in grades 4-8 to the benefits of running and fitness.

“The goal is to finish the final distance run here today [Tuesday] to celebrate them at the finish line,” said Josh Miller, the president of the Hartford Marathon Foundation. “We have some partners with Dick’s Sporting Goods. They have some activities behind us. We have the Dairy Bar, they’re doing milk giveaways, and some other fitness activities around, so they’ll run their one-mile race and come back here and just be healthy and fit today.”

The foundation’s Fit Kids in School has served over 20,000 students over the last decade.