Greentown Elementary students got to a visit from Viking Victory Run organizers and a very, very big Viking at a Tuesday kick-off assembly for the April 22 5K event.

Organizers got the kids excited about the upcoming event by helping them have a little fun that day. Students also got to watch their teachers being a little silly (check out the accompanying video featuring teachers racing with balloons between their knees).

One of the main goals of the Viking Victory Run is to bring back a sense of togetherness that was lost during talks about the Elementary Service Plan — now called the Unified Elementary Design. The Unified Elementary Design makes Northwood and Clearmount elementaries K-2 buildings, while Greentown and Orchard Hill elementaries would house grades 3-5, starting at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.

You can follow the Viking Victory Run organizers as they work to excite the community about the event through Facebook (where they posted many more photos from Tuesday) and through Twitter.