The Dreamfar Holiday Hustle raises funds to support the Dreamfar High School Marathon program, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
The Dreamfar High School Marathon program prepares high school students, over the course of a 30-week training program to run a marathon. Students begin in October with a team at their local high school, organized by "Leaders", teachers who serve as the program coordinators at each participating school. The "Leaders" organize three weekly, after-school training runs with their teams. Beginning in November, all participants meet at a central location (the Brookline Teen Center) for a weekly long run, where they are joined by "Mentors", adult volunteers who join to share their running expertise and keep spirits high over the months of training.
The long runs and weekly mileage increase gradually over the course of the 30 weeks, building from a first long run of 4 miles to a final long run of 22 miles before tapering in preparation for the Providence Marathon in early May.
While there are many fast runners in the program, Dreamfar is not about how fast you run. The concern of Dreamfar is that you keep moving to pursue your goal over the course of time. The students realize that any goal is possible as long as you have a plan and work systematically to achieve it.
No one is pressured to meet time goals in Dreamfar. Most participants train using a run:walk protocol where the athletes run for a set number of minutes, followed by a walk break and then repeat. All particpants in the program have access to a physical therapist to supervise their training. Nutritional and fueling strategies are also included in the program. The safety of all participants is key; building a life-long habit of healthy exercise is one of the results.
Currently in its 9th season, Dreamfar HSM has trained over 600 marathon-finisher high school students to date.
This school year, Dreamfar HSM has a strong team with 150 students and 80 mentors working toward the marathon finish line at the Providence Marathon.
In the last complete season, 2015/2016 school year, Dreamfar HSM:
This school year, Dreamfar HSM has a strong team with 150 students and 80 mentors working toward the marathon finish line at the Providence Marathon.
In the last complete season, 2015/2016 school year, Dreamfar HSM:
- Added 3 new participating schools from the Southcoast of the state,
- Grew student participation by 13% from the previous season, training 127 students to reach the finish line in Providence.
- Trained students from 7 communities in the Greater Boston area & 5 communities in the Southcoast area:
Greater Boston: Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Medford, Needham, Newton, and Sharon
Southcoast: Dartmouth, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford and Rochester - Maintained a nearly perfect marathon completion rate: 99% of the students who started finished the race.
- Recruited 30 teachers from DREAMFAR participating schools and over 50 community members to mentor and train with the students during the 30-week season.
