McHenry Community High School is offering a new adult summer running program to cultivate a joy of running throughout the community.
The Fox Valley Track Series is open to all adults, whether new to running or experienced and looking to grow. Social Science Instructor Dean Roehrborn, assistant coach in both track and field and cross country, said he hopes to inspire adults who will, in turn, inspire their families to embrace running and fitness.
“The goal is to bring everyone together,” Roehrborn said. “There are a lot of benefits to that, more than just promoting running as a whole.”
The six-week program meets Wednesday evenings starting June 4 at McCracken Field in McHenry. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., participants can work with coaches to improve speed and endurance, and work with each other to build relationships. The cost is $30 per person.
Roehrborn said there are a lot of runners in the community, so this is an opportunity for them to gather and work together. Half of the proceeds from registration fees will go to support the high school’s cross country program.
Roehrborn said he’s hoping participants in the summer running program go on to join other running events, such as the McHenry Lakefront 5K or the One-Hour Runathon in August to support the high school’s cross country team. The Runathon was a competition to see how much participants can run in an hour.
Also, this year, the high school is offering a new track camp for middle school students. The idea is to give middle schoolers a taste of high school track and field so they can hit the ground running, so to speak, when they start high school. That is in addition to the high school camps for summer.
There aren’t travel or high school feeder programs for running like there are for baseball, softball and basketball. “I want to establish that same kind of mindset, just for running, Roehrborn said.
To see the full list of summer athletic programs available at McHenry High School, visit the
McHenry Athletic Department website.
