Students Run L.A is back for its fifth year in a row at Animo Pat Brown. More than 50 students have joined the club to prepare to run the 26.2-mile Los Angeles Marathon in March, from the Dodger’s Stadium to Santa Monica.
Alexis Hanson, the coordinator of SRLA and a biology and anatomy teacher at APB, has ran the marathon for 5 years in a row. She believes that 50% of the students running at the moment, will actually follow through when it comes to run the marathon.
Hanson said she hopes to train and guide students to complete the marathon, but apart from that she wants students to be able to set a goal for themselves and follow through.
“The point is to kind of learn how to set a big goal that almost seems impossible but actually achieve by doing smaller things kind of along the way,” Hanson said.
With finishing the marathon being the main objective of SRLA, Hanson said she wants students to take this experience throughout life and have them realize that anything that seems impossible in life can actually be achieved.
“The hope of the program as a whole is actually that kids will inner take this and run with it and realize like going to college might seem impossible,” Hanson said. “But if you set small goals and move up incrementally up then its achievable to.”
Students who signed up expect to achieve personal goals that they have set up for themselves. Many want to prove that in fact they can run a 26.2 mile marathon. Others want to try something completely new.
Senior Isabel Valdez is participating in SRLA for the second time.
“I want to challenge myself once again and I want to run it for my sister that is fighting leukemia.” She said she wants to show her sister her full support by running the marathon.
She said that after her first experience the marathon has made her “stronger physically,emotionally, and mentally.”
Besides the fact that she does it for personal gain she says she sees the benefit of running the marathon for her future life.
“I do it also because it would look good on my college application and it helps me stay healthy.
In addition to students who have joined the past years there are also new students like Senior Raquel Guevara who is trying it for the first time. Even though Raquel said she enjoys running she said she’s only a little confident. Raquel said that she expects to have better opportunities for, “scholarships and to share more time with my friends”.
Her main goal is to finish the Los Angeles Marathon.
Each individual student gains a little something from their experience in joining SRLA. Isabel said she gains strength physically, emotionally and mentally. While Raquel said she hopes to gain more opportunities for her future.
“They gain confidence and good self-esteem and the mindset that they can do anything they set their minds too,” junior Elaine Rodriguez said.
Elaine has ran the marathon once, in 2010, and after the marathon she says, “I felt great when I ran it, I was so proud of myself that I actually had the courage to do it again.”
Hanson said she would like students to get a sense of pride in themselves for completing the marathon “because its something pretty impressive that they’re doing.”
Hanson said she wants students to take students to learn perseverance, “even when it hurts a little bit, keep going”.
Apart from learning perseverance and getting a sense of pride, Hanson said she wants kids to learn how to be healthier and exercise more. “Learn how to be a little bit healthier, maybe not go home and sit on the couch and play video games or text somebody” Ms.Hanson said. “Hopefully eat better and just have better habits overall health wise.”
SRLA helps each student in completely different ways, whether its gaining confidence or getting healthier, this program has become beneficial to those students who have join or returned.
