Founder of Cross Country For Youth Published Book (The Miracle Miler)
Reggie McAfee, the founder of Cross Country For Youth, has published a book! The Miracle Miler tells his story of how he became the first African-American to run the mile in under four minutes.
Fall 2023 Registration begins August 1st!
Register at:
CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS & CHARTER SCHOOL REGISTRATION
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If you have any questions, please email crosscountryforyouth@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Changing History To Changing Lives
After making his name running, McAfee using sport to give back
By Scott Fowler
"Forty years ago, Reggie McAfee ran the first mile in less than 4 minutes ever run by an African-American. Now McAfee runs a far different race. He tries to positively affect the lives of as many young people in the Charlotte area as he can through a non-profit foundation called “Cross-Country For Youth,” which he started in 2006."
Keeping it Positive: Running is Just a Part of the Program
by FOX News Rising | Story Created: Aug 1, 2012
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Our Keeping it Positive contributor, Mary Curtis explains how one organization is helping youth live healthy lives with character. The organization wants to give young people in elementary and middle school the skills they need to run cross-country along with healthy habits.
You? A cross-country coach? Why not?
Theoden Janes | Run, Théoden, Run Blog | September 13, 2011
Do you get a lot out of running? Would you like to give something back?
Here's an opportunity: It's called Cross-Country for Youth, a 10-week after-school running program designed to combat childhood obesity and promote character-building among middle schoolers. More than 325 students participate in the five-year-old program run by Reggie McAfee, the first African American to break the four-minute mile barrier.
What does this have to do with you, and with "giving back"? Well, the program -- which is in about 22 Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary and middle schools and three Mecklenburg Parks -- needs coaches and character presenters.
In addition to practices, held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6 p.m., student participants will be competing in a series of cross-country meets. The estimated weekly time commitment for coaches is two hours over the 10-week period; all materials and training will be provided, and it's OK to buddy up and coach with a friend.
For details on Cross-Country for Youth, click here. If you are interested, contact McAfee via e-mail at crosscountryforyouth@gmail.com this week -- the program's fifth season is just about to begin.
USATF Foundation – Doing Good Things for Kids
Alix Shutello| Runner's Illustrated |May 15, 2011
Sub 4:00 Mile Record Holder, Reggie McAfee’s, Cross-Country for Youth has flourished
Reggie McAfee holds a lot more than a U.S. national record title as the first African American to break 4:00 minutes in the mile. He holds the future of youth sports in his hands. McAfee is one of many executive directors of athletic youth programs around the nation. His organization, Cross-Country for Youth (CCFY), is a Charlotte-based nonprofit that introduces middle schoolers to cross-country training and character-building concepts to develop the whole person.
McAfee launched the nonprofit in 2006 after leaving a 26-year career at Xerox, where he worked from 1980 to 2006, moving up the corporate ladder until he became the top Xerox salesman in the United States in 1999. When the company offered him early retirement, McAfee decided to give back so he went back to his roots as an athlete and launched CCFY later that year. The kids represent a broad demographic group, divided roughly evenly among whites, African Americans and Hispanics, including both at-risk kids and affluent kids.
“I thank God for providing me the opportunity and privilege to create a program that focuses on Cross-Country training and character development. What a winning combination,” he said.
McAfee attributes his success at Xerox to his perseverance as an athlete. During his career, many doubted his abilities, but he used his mental acuity, business acumen, and desire to achieve, to push him forward; skills developed from the process of setting goals, developing a plan, and executing on that plan—the very same process he used to become one of America’s most prolific track and field superstars with a national record to boot.
The USATF Gives Back
In the early stages, the CCFY operated on a slim annual budget of roughly $125,000 and with 60 to 70 volunteers. The organization made an impact using cross-country running as a tool to teach kids in elementary and middle school “to live healthy lives with character.
In 2007, the USA Track & Field Foundation presented a $1500 youth grant CCFY in support of its programs and in three short years, the program grew from 70 kids the first year to 205 in 2009. In the meanwhile, the USATF has given numerous grants to youth athletic programs around the nation.
About Reggie:
In high school, McAfee was Ohio state champion in cross-country two years straight and in the mile and half-mile. As a sophomore at Brevard College in North Carolina on a scholarship for cross-country and track, he was national junior college champion in cross-country and in the mile and two-mile.
But it was in 1973, after transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, that he made history and became the first African-American to break the four-minute mile barrier in 3:57.8. He broke the 4:00 barrier seven times total in his career.
About the USATF Foundation
The USATF Foundation was founded in 2002 as a means to attract and guide funds to new and innovative track and field programs, with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth athletes, emerging athletes, distance training centers and anti-doping education. The Foundation depends upon donations from its Board of Directors and from generous fans of track and field. In April 2011, the USATF gave out 20 grants to national youth athletic foundations.
Chaired by NASDAQ CEO Bob Greifeld, the Foundation’s Board is composed of 25 individuals who share a love of track and field and a desire to provide substantial financial support to under-funded programs and individuals. Board members range from Olympic gold medalists to Fortune 500 executives and entertainment industry luminaries (http://usatffoundation.org/about/directors.asp).
Students prepare for regional meet
Sarah Gilbert| South Charlotte Weekly | December 2, 2010
Students in elementary and middle schools across the Carolinas came together Nov. 13 to compete in a unique cross-country competition.
The event, which took place at McAlpine Greenway Park in south Charlotte, was the city championship for Cross Country for Youth, a fitness program brought to area schools by program founder Reggie McAfee.
In the middle school girls’ competition, Carmel Middle came in first, followed by Randolph IB Middle in second and Bailey Middle in third. Randolph IB Middle’s Jazzmone Boyd won the individual award among the middle school girls.
In the middle school boys’ competition, Bailey Middle came in first. Carmel Middle placed second, and Randolph IB Middle finished third. Bailey Middle’s Igor Bayluck was the individual winner among the middle school boys.
In the elementary school competition, Charlotte’s Greater Enrichment Program took first, followed by Winterfield Elementary in second and Smith Academy of International Languages in third.
Jennifer Celado of Winterfield Elementary won the elementary girls’ competition and Jermaine Lowery of Walter G. Byers Elementary won the elementary boys’ competition.
This year, administrators chose to offer the program at Bruns and Winterfield elementary schools in Charlotte, as well as Sugar Creek Elementary in Fort Mill, S.C.
Schools also offered the program at Charlotte’s, Carmel, Eastway, Piedmont Open, Randolph IB, Ranson, Sedgefield, Spaugh and Wilson middle schools, as well as Bailey Middle in Cornelius and Sullivan Middle in Fort Mill.
Smith Academy of International Languages, a south Charlotte magnet school serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, also participated.
Students met twice a week after school for 90 minutes – an hour of running and training and 30 minutes of character development.
The program lasted for 10 weeks, and students competed in practices and a series of local cross country meets. The meets were designed to help the students improve their training habits, as well as introduce them to the competitive side of cross country. Familiarity with both will serve the students well should they choose to pursue cross country in high school or beyond.
The character development program introduced students to the concepts of teamwork, commitment, sportsmanship, respect, responsibility, discipline, integrity, leadership, perseverance and courage. The program invited members of the community to participate by helping to deliver the character-development messages.
Students at schools that offer Cross Country for Youth pay $125 to participate. The program fee includes 10 weeks of lessons and cross-country training, as well as registration fees for competitions and T-shirts. Scholarships are available for qualifying students.
Many of the students who competed at the city championship will return to McAlpine Greenway Park Saturday, Nov. 27, for the regional competition, which is sponsored by Foot Locker. Runners from schools across 15 southern states will join them in their fight for a regional title and a shot at attending the national competition, which is scheduled for Dec. 11 in San Diego, Calif.
The national event is the culmination of the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, a series of annual cross country races held in regions across the U.S. to find the best runner in various age divisions.
Charlotte’s Cross Country for Youth organization will hold an appreciation banquet for all of the 2010 runners and volunteers Dec. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Beatties Ford Road.
To learn more about Cross Country for Youth or the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, visit www.crosscountryforyouth.org and www.footlockercc.com/.
Retired exec teaches kids to persevere
Todd Cohen | Philanthropy Journal | February 2, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The slogan "Attitude is everything" is inscribed on Reggie McAfee's business card.
McAfee should know: A child of public housing in Cincinnati, he became a star runner in high school in Ohio and college in North Carolina.
And despite initial doubts by some of his superiors at Xerox, he became the company's top salesman.
Now, he heads a Charlotte-based nonprofit that uses running as a tool for teaching kids to keep on keeping on.
"If you're used to persevering and setting goals, and if you're committed, you can achieve any goal," says McAfee, chairman and executive director of Cross-Country for Youth. "Those skills transfer to everything in your life."
McAfee launched the nonprofit in 2006 after taking early retirement at Xerox.
Operating with an annual budget of roughly $125,000 and 60 to 70 volunteers, Cross-County for Youth uses cross-country running as a tool to teach kids in elementary and middle school "to live healthy lives with character."
The nonprofit teams with schools, offering a 10-week program each fall for roughly 16 kids per school, with each kid paying $125 to participate.
The kids attend a one-hour practice twice a week run by two volunteer coaches, with each practice following a 30-minute session on character, also led by volunteers.
In just three years, the program has grown from 70 kids the first year to 205 this school year.
And the kids represent a broad demographic group, divided roughly evenly among whites, African Americans and Hispanics, including both at-risk kids and affluent kids.
Scholarships are available, funded with money raised at an annual bowl-a-thon set for April 24 at AMF Carolina Lanes in Matthews.
McAfee aims to expand the model throughout North Carolina.
Rising to challenges is nothing new for him.
In high school, he was Ohio state champion in cross-country two years straight and in the mile and half-mile.
As a sophomore at Brevard College in North Carolina on a scholarship for cross-country and track, he was national junior college champion in cross-country and in the mile and two-mile.
And in 1973, after transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was the first African-American to break the four-minute mile.
Then, after earning a master's degree in business administration at N.C. Central University in Durham, he went to work in 1980 in Charlotte for Xerox.
After working for several years in finance, he wanted to move to sales, but some of his bosses doubted his abilities.
"People would say, .You don't have enough experience,'" McAfee says.
So he became a technical analyst supporting the sales staff.
He worked his way up the job ladder at Xerox, and in each job exceeded his superior's doubts about his ability to succeed.
"Whatever obstacle or challenge they put forward, I met the challenge every time," he says.
He eventually sold the company's most sophisticated solutions, and, in 1999, was the top Xerox salesman in the U.S.
In 2006, when the company offered him early retirement, he figured it was a perfect time to pursue his dream of giving back by working with kids.
"I did not have a father figure," he says. "But there were so many people who stood in the gap to be that person. I always said, .If I have an opportunity to give back and improve the lives of others, I will.'"
This fall, McAfee hopes to expand the nonprofit's program within a 75-mile radius of Charlotte, and is looking for schools with volunteers who have good character and a passion to work with kids.
"This program is not about being great runners," McAfee says. "It's more about having kids be great people."