#500KIDSFIT

KidsFit Program

Jumpstart Your Kids’ Healthy Lifestyle!

The 500 Festival KidsFit Program gets Indiana kids moving while teaching them how to pursue a healthy lifestyle. This free, customizable program is designed for kids in grades K-6 and is available to schools and groups. KidsFit meets the Indiana Department of Education’s Indiana State Academic Standards for Health and Physical Education.

KidsFit participants complete weekly lessons with an Indy 500 theme and run or walk one mile each week using the Start Your Engines Running Plan. By the end of the program, kids will have completed 13.1 miles – the equivalent of a half marathon!

Join thousands of Hoosier kids getting active this spring! There is no cost to participate. Once registered for the program, you will begin receiving communication about program materials and other program information.

2026 KidsFit Registration is now closed.

What’s Included In The Program?

  • A customizable 12-week Curriculum (for grades K-3) or a 10-week Curriculum (for grades 4-6)

  • Lessons and activities

  • Start Your Engines Running Plan – created just for kids!

  • Printable Classroom incentive charts for students to track their progress

  • Printable KidsFit Program completion certificates

  • Resources to help you plan and execute your final run

  • A Celebration Event: Groups can choose to celebrate their students through a Mobile Run, where the 500 Festival brings a race to your school, or groups can come to downtown Indianapolis in May and participate in the KidsFit Program Final 5K. Either option is the perfect culmination to the KidsFit Program!

Choose Your KidsFit Finale!

Mobile Run at Your School:

Groups can experience the fun and excitement of a 500 Festival running event through a KidsFit Mobile Run where the 500 Festival brings the fanfare of a running event to you. Mobile Runs are offered to schools free of charge and the 500 Festival provides all resources, including a start line, finish line, and race decor.

KidsFit Final 5K:

Program participants who are in grades 4 through 6 are invited to Indianapolis to finish their final 3.1 miles in their own wave of the Delta Dental 500 Festival 5K! Groups can experience the KidsFit Final 5K, which occurs the morning of the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.


Students will finish at the same finish line as the Mini-Marathon participants – complete with grandstands filled with cheering fans and families. KidsFit participants receive a discounted entry, a shirt, a finisher medal, post-race snacks and goodies, and an experience they’ll never forget!

Schools or groups must be registered for the 2026 KidsFit Program to be eligible for a Mobile Run or the KidsFit Final 5K.

Contact Us

Teacher Portal & Resources

Frequently Asked Questions:

The 500 Festival KidsFit Program is available to all K-6th grade students in the state of Indiana (classrooms or groups).

The 500 Festival KidsFit Program was created by the 500 Festival as a 10 or 12-week running and physical education program for K-6th grade students across the state of Indiana. KidsFit activities and lessons meet the Indiana Department of Education’s Indiana State Academic Standards for Health and Physical Education. The program includes weekly activities with a step-by-step guide for any interested teachers in Indiana. Basic items such as jump ropes, cones, and stopwatches are needed to perform the weekly activities that are geared toward the Indianapolis 500®.

In addition to the weekly lessons and activities, students are expected to complete one mile of running or walking each week with the “Start Your Engines Running Plan.” Starting with Week One, the program will gradually grow in difficulty with longer running periods to build the students’ stamina. Students are able to complete the running portion as a group or on an individual basis. Students will log and track their progress. The goal is for students to run 13.1 miles over the course of the program, the equivalent of a half-marathon.

Once you have registered your students to participate in the program, you will receive an email from the 500 Festival confirming registration. In the middle of January, teachers will receive information on how to access the online KidsFit portal, where you can download the curriculum, classroom, and student incentive charts for students to track their progress and KidsFit Program completion certificates.

The 500 Festival has tried to make it as easy as possible for teachers to administer the Program in their classrooms, gymnasiums, athletic fields, or parking lots by providing a step-by-step lesson/activity curriculum. The curriculum packet will provide some basic props needed to complete activities. Teachers will just need basic physical education equipment like jump ropes, stopwatches, cones, etc.

No, the program is completely FREE to Indiana schools, classrooms and running groups!

Each student who completes the program will receive an official certificate of completion when they finish the program.

YOUTH FITNESS CORNERSTONE PARTNERS

YOUTH FITNESS CORNERSTONE PARTNERS