ShamRockers USA Teen Runners

The awesome teen runners of ShamRockersUSA Teen Running and Travel Club have been busy. Just since January 10, 2009, seventeen young runners in the premier teen running club have earned Half Marathon Gold Finisher’s Medals ~ four at the Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend on January 10, 2009 and thirteen at the Sarasota Half Marathon on February 15, 2009. Every year, these teens enjoy the Endurance Series races at Walt Disney World® such as the Hollywood Studios Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 13k, the Princess Marathon, the outrageous Muddy Buddy, Expedition Everest and the Race for the Taste. So how do you top running at Disney? By running the Cork City Marathon Relay Race on June 1, 2009 in Ireland ~ the club’s next adventure. Race Event Director, Gina Johnson, says “We’re so excited to welcome these young Americans to our race.”

“To watch these teens cross the Finish Line of a 13.1 mile race is nothing short of spectacular. Most adults will NEVER accomplish this feat and these kids do so at the age of 14!”, said Diane Lyons, Founder and Coach of ShamRockersUSA, Inc. Especially at the Sarasota Grouper Run, an annual race event in sunny Sarasota, Florida where this year just over 2,600 runners from 17 countries around the world came to enjoy the beautiful weather and run either a Half or a Full Marathon, the attendance of younger runners is always appreciated. ShamRocker Sean Mack, 14, took First Place in his age group.

At the Walt Disney World® Half Marathon in January and the Sarasota Grouper Run in February, all ShamRocker runners who crossed the Finish Line with Diane had not run on any regular basis before they joined the club. Diane will attest “I absolutely love to see kids who have not previously experienced running start their run/walk training ~ and see that this is something they can do.”

Lyons created ShamRockersUSA when she completed her own first Half Marathon at Walt Disney World® in 2007 and her son, Garrett, then 13, said he wanted to do it with her the next year. “Awesome!” she cried and immediately put the word out for friends of his to join in the fun of training to run 13 miles. As word spread about the unique club, other children wanted to join and other parents wanted their own kids in the group ~ so Lyons formed a Florida corporation and with school board approval, addressed the kids right in their gym classes. “The kids would run up to me, so anxious to get started! I was really amazed at the level of interest by the kids.”

“What draws them to ShamRockersUSA is the challenge and the reward. I teach a version of run/walk, which is safe for the body, yet still requires both mental and physical strength. I am all about endurance ~ I am not about speed; the kids learn that although they are part of a team, they are really in competition with themselves. And for this iGeneration, that is a critical aspect of their self esteem, to be in control.”

ShamRockersUSA Teen Running and Travel Club, Inc. is the newly created for-profit corporation; this entity was created to offer franchises of this unique and inspiring athletic concept in cities around the nation. “If you’re a runner who wants to help the kids of your own community, to fight childhood obesity and coach young adults on self-awareness and financial responsibility, and get paid to do so, call me.”

Sunday, January 11, 2009, at the Walt Disney World® Marathon race, Coach Diane also became one of just 4,000 runners in the world this year to complete the Goofy Challenge, where the athlete runs the Half Marathon on Saturday and the Full Marathon on Sunday. Running a total of 39.3 miles in one weekend, Diane says “It was the single most challenging event in my life and by far, the most satisfying. The kids now can see that you can do whatever you want in life if you just try.”

Registration for the Walt Disney World® Half Marathon is now open; please contact Diane Lyons immediately for Summer Graduate Program registration information as this Disney race will sell out within a few weeks.

ShamRockersUSA trains teens and young adults in several programs throughout the year: Fall Team (13 years old +) training begins each November and ends at the Walt Disney World® Muddy Buddy Relay and Obstacle Race each May. Summer Graduate Team (13 years old +) training begins each July and ends at the Walt Disney World® Half Marathon each January. Four Leaf Clover Graduate Program offers Half Marathon runners the ultimate race schedule ~ to run four Half Marathon races between January and March in four cities ~ Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota and Miami. Summer Youth (10 years old +) training begins each August for a three-month program and ends at the Walt Disney World® Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Race on Halloween weekend each October. Winter Youth (10 years old +) training begins in December for a two-month program and ends at the Ringling Bridge Run in Sarasota each January.

Diane concludes “It is my goal to offer this experience to young runners every where. The kids in every city will be able to come and run the bigger Walt Disney World® races with us. That is why I started the Travel Club company, so they will not only become better athletes but also gain a more global perspective on life.”

Donations for their Ireland race may be sent to ShamRockersUSA. You may contact Diane at 941 321 6208 or by email - www.ShamRockersUSA.com a Florida 501c3 non- profit.

Top of article photo: Original three boys who ran their first Walt Disney Half in 2008, Garrett, Rico and Morgyn.

First photo below: Finishers with medals after the Sarasota Grouper Half Marathon. Photo on bottom right: Aaron, Linden and Coach Diane Lyons ...aka Fiona, after the Sarasota Grouper Half Marathon. Bottom left photo: Fiona and Goofy at the Goofy race at Walt Disney World.