Children run the final mile in Kids Run the OC

More than 8,000 children from area schools laced up their running shoes Saturday morning in Costa Mesa to complete the last mile of what has been a marathon stretching back weeks.

Students from schools across Orange County participated in Kids Run the OC, the first official race of OC Marathon weekend. The marathon and half-marathon races are Sunday morning.

Students in Kids Run the OC went through hours of training at their schools in the weeks before the race. By the end of the training program, each student had accumulated the equivalent of 25.2 miles of activity. They completed the last mile of their 26.2-mile adventure as they crossed the finish line Saturday at the OC Fair & Event Center.

The program is designed to help elementary school-age children become more physically fit and to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.