Second Grader Awarded For Walking 100 Miles

By STEPHANIE BUNKER

The Progress

Grant M Bowler Elementary School awarded second grader Ian Branson with a brand new pair of tennis shoes on Friday, Sept. 30. This was the rich reward for being the first student this school year to walk 100 miles.

“This award has been given out every year since the 100 miler program started around 10 years ago,” said Paula Dehner the Bowler PE teacher.

Last year Ian watched the award being presented and he thought that he could do that. He expressed this desire to his grandmother, Chrissy Hallenburg, of Logandale. She helped him along the journey.
“I told him we would have to start at the beginning of the school year and walk when it’s hot and inconvenient,” Hallenburg said. “I also said I would help him as long as he didn’t crab about it.”
Hallenburg said the only day that Ian complained was on his birthday.

“He asked if he had to walk on his birthday and I told him that other kids were walking but it was his choice,” Hallenburg said. “He just said, “Oh ok, I’ll walk.”

Ian would walk to school and home from school. At one point he saw that another kid in school was about 10 miles ahead of him. So he started walking longer routes to school. Then he would do a lap or two around the playground.

Ian would walk 3-4 miles every day and he sacrificed a lot for an 8-year-old boy. He got up early to get to school on time. And when his friends wanted a play date after school, he told them that when he has his 100 miles finished, he could start playing again.

“I really admire the effort Ian has put into this,” Hallenburg said. “He is a hard worker and very honest. He didn’t want to cheat or cut corners, he wanted to feel good about earning the award.”

At morning muster where the award was given to Ian, Paula Dehner said that tennis shoes are her thing in life so she was excited when she got to pick out Ian’s tennis shoes.
“I asked his parents what size and what colors he liked,” she said.

Dehner went with a pair of Adidas shoes that were red, gray, and white, just the colors Ian wanted.
Dehner explained that the 100 Mile Program encourages kids to be active, have personal responsibility and work towards a goal.

To be a part of the club they pay $12 for the t-shirt and prizes they receive as they hit their goals.
“When they hit 25 miles they get a t-shirt, and for every 25 miles they walk after that they bring their shirt back in and we use puff paint to mark it off on their shirt,” Dehner said. “They also receive pencils and wrist bands for their efforts.”

Dehner said that this program really took off after Covid hit and the balls and jump ropes were taken away.
“Those things have been returned to the kids now,” she said. “But they don’t play with them like they used to.”