Troy Rudderham

Troy Rudderham is one of many volunteer coaches in this year’s Kids Run Club, a free, school-based running program celebrating 15 years of getting more than 17,000 children and youth active across Nova Scotia every year. Cape Breton has more than 30 schools, 60 coaches and 2,700 runners participating so far this year. The program encourages children to get active and have fun while learning to run. The training will culminate on June 1, when the 15th Annual Doctors Nova Scotia Youth Run is held at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion in Sydney. For more information, visit kidsrunclub.ca and capebretonfiddlersrun.com.

School: Ferrisview Elementary School Occupation: Physical Education Teacher Family: Married to Lana Rudderham; three children: Samantha, Mason, and Gavin

Birthplace:

Born and live in North Sydney

How long have you been involved in the kids running program?

Coaching since 2006

Why did you get involved?

Started teaching at St. Joseph Elementary in Sydney Mines and they had the program in place the year before. I thought that it was a positive program and I wanted to continue running it the following year.

Where do you run with the program?

As a group, our students run a 250-metre course that is plotted out on our school grounds. Students are also challenged to run two more times in the week at home.

When do you run with the kids run club?

Our club meets on Mondays each week from the end of April until the Fiddlers Run in June.

What’s your favourite part of coaching?

I enjoy coaching because it gives our students another avenue to be active.

What’s the best advice you have for runners?

I tell students that they will feel uncomfortable after a few minutes of running but if they push themselves, it will get easier and they will see improvements.

Any tips for new coaches?

A tip for new coaches would be to challenge the students to run for longer distances and you may be surprised at what they can accomplish.