Most young people see running as punishment.

If they are asked to run as part of a sports team or physical education class, it's either an attempt to get them into shape for some other activity or part of paying the price for a lack of effort or attention.

It takes quite a salesman to convince a 12-year-old that running — all by itself — is fun. That is, until they actually go out and do it.

Once they're actually running (beyond the sprint to and from the school or the ice cream truck), it will transform them in ways they'll never expect.

Saturday morning, about 144 middle school students will run in a race that is more than just another competition. It is the fulfillment of a promise the new school district made to parents who voiced concern about the lack of extracurricular programs for middle school-age children.

"This has never happened," said Mike Sirois, director of middle schools for the Canyons School District, who has worked in public education for 27 years. "This was a pretty new concept for our middle schools."

After the residents voted to split the old Jordan District, Canyons officials conducted a poll of its residents, which confirmed the idea that officials needed to do more for middle school-age children.

Without the money to start a full sports program in every middle school, district officials, especially Trent Goble and Sirois, decided to take a look at ways they could benefit as many students as possible.

"If you start a sports program in the middle schools … the same students would dominate every sport," he said.

The difference in physical maturity would discourage many students from participating if the activities mirrored the high school programs.

So they came up with sports programs they thought would be appealing and beneficial to "a wider group of students."

"It's not the kids who'd go out for football," Sirois said. "It's an eclectic group of kids, which is what we wanted. We wanted broad participation. We are really, really pleased with the response."

The best thing about starting cross country programs is that they're inexpensive and hugely beneficial. Each student received a T-shirt — in school colors, of course — and those who qualify for Saturday's meet will compete for medals and a team trophy. Schools are encouraged to recognize the participants at pre-race assemblies.