Students broke out into spontaneous cheers, legs bouncing, arms raising, blue Runner’s World numbers rustling on their backs as they gathered in the Baucom Elementary School gym in Apex on Friday.

Each of the 349 participants, grades kindergarten through five, had prepared from December through the end of February for the fourth annual Baucom Buddies Marathon. Students logged 25 miles on their own, with the help of their families, and then came together for the final 1.2 miles of the “marathon.”

“Today there are more doing the marathon than standing on the sidelines cheering for you,” said P.E. teacher Connie Cronk, as students, parents and teachers clapped and hooted.

A clear blue sky and warm temperature greeted participants after shaking off a snow day earlier in the week.

Charlene and Eldrice Murphy, along with their 2-year-old, Niyah, stood at the edge of the Baucom track with gold pom-poms.

“We walked to school, did the Apex Parade, sold and delivered Girl Scout cookies …” Charlene said of her family’s efforts at gaining miles: Rhea is in fourth grade, April is in first grade and Pier is in kindergarten.

“It’s habit-forming; your body feels you have to do it. And I lost a lot of weight from it, too.”

Laurie Colwell and Tracey McDonnell, two Baucom moms who have organized the marathon from the beginning, know all about engaging the family.

They got the idea for Baucom’s event from the first Raleigh marathon, when they ran and their kids completed the kids’ “marathon” portion. Luke Colwell, 9, and Patrick McDonnell, 10, ran in this year’s event.

“We wanted an activity you didn’t have to be good at,” Colwell said.

“It’s encouraging and fun; it’s a nice way to let kids know that you don’t have to be the fastest or the best. Everyone’s there to cheer you on just because you did it,” McDonnell said.

Both moms said the goal was to inspire not only the kids, but the families, too. Paul Earl ran with his fourth-grader, Cole. Cole’s brother Reese ran with his fellow third-graders.

“I was a lot more motivated to go to the gym,” Paul Earl said. “And we had some good family time when we walked on the good trails behind our house.”

Kate O’Neill, in second grade, ran and walked the last 1.2 miles. “It was very fun; we got to run around the whole school,” she said. “But it was a little hard.”

Struggling students could find comfort in the 14 Carolina RailHawks soccer players who ran alongside students and congratulated them as they passed under a balloon arch and received a medal.

Also there were members of the Apex police and fire departments; Swoops, the RailHawks mascot and Wool E. Bull from the Durham Bulls.

Teacher Lisa Richardson, who has completed two traditional marathons and one half-marathon, encouraged her entire class of 23 students to walk 15 miles together at recess during the winter and complete other miles at home. They look forward to a pizza party for their team work.