The ‘Shoes for Kids’ campaign wants your entry into the Friday night 5K – InForum

FARGO — Phil Seljevold was an elementary school physical education teacher and was best known in Moorhead as the longtime athletic director at Moorhead High. His son Larry coached track and field in the Fargo public school system for 30 years before retiring.

It’s unlikely House Seljevold had to worry about putting quality running shoes on their children. Pete Seljevold, Phil’s son and administrator of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Worksite Wellness Initiative, is doing his best so other families don’t have to worry either.

“The more we can get kids moving in a good pair of shoes, the better,” Pete Seljevold said. “A lot of kids don’t even have the basics of a good pair of tennis shoes to be active in, to wear in physical education class at school.”

He saw it first hand. His wife, Lisa, was a long-time first grade teacher at Moorhead State Schools.

“A lot of kids didn’t have the basics,” Pete said.

His company has put both feet in the water to help raise funds for the BNSF Railway Friday Night 5K. This is a major fundraiser for the marathon’s annual “Shoes for Kids” campaign, which has been running since 2010.

Each registration donates $2 to the cause.

This means that Blue Cross is pushing for more participants. Registration is still ongoing on the marathon website at Fargomarathon.com.

“Creating a healthier North Dakota is at the heart of what we do here at Blue,” said Dan Conrad, CEO of BCBSND.

An assortment of local businesses got involved in the marathon’s “Tag 5 Corporate Challenge” program, which asks people when registering to tag friends or businesses on social media to also join the cause using the hashtag “#Tag5Fargo”. The goal is 5,000 people, either walkers, runners or a combination of the two.

“And even if you can’t run or walk, come out and cheer someone on,” Pete Seljevold said. “The marathon is such a big part of spring in Fargo-Moorhead. Go out and participate as much as you can.

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