April 2000

Through the Celebrate 2000 Youth Fitness Challenge, UM athletes visited with more than 4,000 elementary and middle school students to encourage them to get in shape and join Grizzly team representatives and others from the community in this year's YMCA Riverbank Run Saturday, April 29.

The Youth Fitness Challenge is a community-sponsored project designed to help provide the motivation to get kids moving. In cooperation with the Missoula YMCA's Riverbank Run and the Montana Grizzlies, all Missoula physical education teachers were provided a structured five-week conditioning program for their students.

School principals and physical education teachers were the guests of Grizzly football head coach Joe Glenn and quarterback Drew Miller at a program kick-off breakfast in mid-March. The Grizzly football leaders stressed their belief in the importance of establishing physical fitness habits that can last a lifetime.

Miller was among the Grizzly athletes who visited Missoula schools to talk about the fitness challenge and to exercise with students. He was mobbed by several hundred youngsters at Lewis and Clark Elementary School, where his hand got the best of a lunchtime workout as he signed autographs for each student. Miller also took a few minutes away from signing his name to toss a football with students.

The Riverbank Run is held annually to raise money for the YMCA's Partner With Youth fund to provide financial assistance for youth programs and memberships. With the help of the Celebrate 2000 Youth Fitness Challenge, organizers of the run hoped to increase participation by local schoolchildren.

Community sponsors of the Celebrate 2000 Youth Fitness Challenge are UM, the Missoulian, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, Community Medical Center, First Security Bank, KMSO Radio, KPAX-TV, Merrill Lynch, Missoula Chamber of Commerce and Smurfit-Stone.

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