A student at Nebo Elementary makes her way along one of the tracks during RUN-A-PALOOZA, an event that raises money for the school and gets students excited about fitness.

An elementary school in Paulding County focuses on the enjoyment of running while also raising money for the school through RUN-A-PALOOZA, an annual school-wide event that takes place during each grade level's physical education time.

Entire grade levels at Nebo Elementary run at the same time, with classes spread out across three tracks marked by cones on the school's property. Students are challenged to run 21 laps, which equals three miles, in 35 minutes. Each time a student completes a lap, a teacher or parent volunteer places a mark on a specially-designed RUN-A-PALOOZA T-shirt to keep track of the laps.

Students mentally and physically prepare for RUN-A-PALOOZA during PE classes leading up to the event. The teachers want the students to be as successful as possible and use games and activities to encourage running and make it fun.

Teachers believe providing a positive running experience make the students more likely to continue running and physical activity long after the event is over.

The focus of RUN-A-PALOOZA is the enjoyment of running, but students are encouraged to set both fundraising goals and running goals. Most students strive to beat their previous year's scores in both areas.

A student receives a tally mark on his shirt as he completes a lap at RUN-A-PALOOZA. The students add up their marks at the end to see how many laps they completed.

This year the students ran approximately 20,500 laps which equals 2,929 miles, and raised just over $12,000. In the past three years, students have raised more than $30,000 for the school. RUN-A-PALOOZA has been an extremely successful fundraising and physical activity event, and is one that other schools can easily implement at their locations.

RUN-A-PALOOZA wraps up a two-week-long fundraising event that is kicked off with pep rally to get students excited both about the event and the chance to raise money for the school. The pep rally focuses on teamwork, goal setting and, of course, prizes for the top fundraisers.

-Story by Dave Senecal, physical education specialist at Nebo Elementary, Paulding County Schools