KANE — “What a weekend!” declared Kane Mayor Brandy Schimp upon her return to work following Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend in the Steel City.

Kane’s Kids of Steel program sent 85 young runners to take part in Saturday’s Kids’ Marathon, just one race of several held in Pittsburgh on Marathon Weekend.

Overall more than 8,500 kids ran, Schimp said, adding it was a new record for Kids’ Marathon. About 10 Kane program participants who couldn’t make it to Pittsburgh took part in a trail run held in Kane and organized by Natalie Benek.

The Kids’ Marathon was the culminating event for Kane’s Kids of Steel program, established just this year to get kids moving.

A free offering from P3R, the group that runs the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, has participating children in kindergarten to fifth grade working to accumulate 26.2 miles — the length of a full marathon.

“It’s so fun,” Schimp said. “They tally up their miles and get them up to 25.2, then on marathon weekend, they have the opportunity to run their last mile in Pittsburgh at the kids’ one-mile run.”

She said organizers anticipated 20 to 30 kids signing up, and they got 119. The group partnered with Kane Elementary School to implement the program. The district covered the runners’ $25 entry fees and transported interested kids to Pittsburgh.

“It was an amazing experience,” Schimp said. “The energy in the city was electric. It carried over Saturday into Sunday (when) Lance and I finished the half marathon for the sixth time and it never disappoints.”

Schimp was among a group of runners raising money for the future Kane Area Children’s Museum — which she noted is for all kids in the area, not just Kane.

Run for a Reason, also a program of P3R, allows runners participating in the Pittsburgh Marathon — or any of its races and virtually — to collect race sponsorships for donation to any of the program’s official charities. This year’s only official charity north of Interstate 80 was the Kane Area Children’s Museum.

A work in progress, the future site of the museum is the former Chestnut Street Center, which also happens to be the Kids of Steel practice site.

“It’s nice to have these kids in there seeing first hand what’s going to be their children’s museum — for them to understand why we’re running to raise money and come along on the process with us.”

Overall, Schimp echoed the sentiments of many runners who’ve undertaken the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, declaring it a well-organized event.

“I was thrilled,” Schimp said, “that so many of our local families were able to participate and experience Pittsburgh’s Marathon Weekend.”

Find a link to donate to Kane’s reason for running on the Kane Area Children’s Museum Facebook page.