Lundahl Middle School PE Teacher Publishes Book on School's 24-Hour Challenge Run

Submission by Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47

Fred Kaiser, physical education teacher at Lundahl for the past 27 years, has authored a new book to teach others about the value of the school’s upcoming 24-Hour Challenge Run, an annual event he founded in 1998.

Now in its 18th year, the all-school relay at Lundahl Middle School will be held this year on May 26 at 3 p.m. and will be run, literally, for 24 hours. Co-ed relay teams are made up of 12-13 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students who run, eat, sleep, and help with the event, spending the entire 24 hours on the infield of the Lundahl track. Kaiser estimates that 40 percent of the entire school gets involved each year in the 24-Hour Run, as students, staff, parents, local businesses and community members get set up, provide food/beverages, supervise, and even participate by running in the event.

According to Kaiser, whose father was a Navy Seal, the purpose of the event is to help students realize their potential and teach them how to be successful. And, because the event runs the gamut of being challenging, stressful, painful, exhilarating, and joyful, the 24-Hour Challenge Run becomes an invaluable experience that cannot be taught in the classroom and must be experienced firsthand.

“My goal as a teacher is to focus on the well-being of my students and how they will be doing in 20 years by instilling healthy habits now,” said Kaiser. He went on to say that students don’t get a grade or extra credit for participating in the relay. Rather, he explained, the real value of the event is that students push themselves to see what they can accomplish outside their comfort zone.

It is for this reason that Kaiser decided to write The 24-Hour Run Experience. The book serves to inspire and motivate educators, teachers, and superintendents, among others, to see what’s possible when students engage in meaningful and powerful learning experiences.

With a detailed account of the relay, including motivational quotes and anecdotes peppered throughout, Kaiser said he hopes his readers take away tips for organizing and building excitement around an event like the 24-Hour Run, as well as how to build success in everyday life.

Published by Wood N Barnes, the 24-Hour Run Experience is available for $19.95 at www.woodnbarnes.com and on Amazon at www.amazon.com.