La Puente 10k

Thomas 7^th, Mayra 8^th, Darling 8^th

Camino Nuevo Charter Academy

Today was the day of the Halloween run for SRLA!  We have been training for months, and we have collected a lot of bottles for SRLA Cares.

We got to school early in the morning, when it was still cold and dark.  Everyone was waiting outside for the bus to arrive, and we were very excited for it to come. 

We picked up kids from a high school, and we saw Angel!  He was on our team last year, but is now in 9^th grade.  He is learning to play the viola!

When we got to the race, we got out of the bus and went to warm up.  We waited in line for the bathrooms for a very very long time.  Then we warmed up and went to line up for the race.  Some teams do better stretches than us, and our coaches told us we could learn them for next time.

Today is my first race, and so I was very surprised to see how many people were there.  We turned the corner, and all I could see was so many people.  I could also see a very big hill!  That is where we ran when we started the race.

 

After we ran up the big hill, we ran past houses and people cheering for us!  There are some houses dressed up like haunted houses.  Those were cool.

When we got to the finish line, we ran around again.  We did not want to get disqualified for only running 5 Ks.

When we got to the end, everyone cheered for us!  We got a really cool medal, and a purple t-shirt.  We can wear them to school tomorrow instead of uniform!!

Then we got on the bus to go home.  That was fun, too.  We ran 6.2 miles today, and we spent time with our friends and donated bottles and had fun!

Today was a really fun race.  I am excited to run the next one at Universal Studios!!

 

Say No To Drugs 5K

Javier

12th Grade, Locke High School

       The 5K was one of the best runs that I have done in my life.  I felt really proud of myself. I liked the experience because I really haven’t done that in my life. For it being my first time I did very well because I finished under 30 minutes, the goal I wanted. Many people were proud of themselves because it is life changing. For me it is a life changing experience because I am one step closer to something I have always wished for, my goal to finish the marathon. Personally I felt good about myself because it was my first time running a race. I really believe in myself because I love to run and I have a lot of motivation.

Jacqueline

10th Grade, Locke High School

        I joined Students Run Los Angeles primarily because I want to lose weight and I have no extracurricular activities to put on a college application. My teacher, Coach Lugo, told my class that one former runner lost over 40 pounds in the program so, I knew it would be a challenge for me I just didn't know it would be so hard.

       Yesterday I had the privilege of attending my first event, the 5K at Dockweiler State Beach. I expected to feel extremely tired, but like Coach Covarrubias said, my body could do a lot more than I expected. Not only did I feel immense pride in finishing the run, but it was truly inspiring to see so many students and teachers of all ages come together. I found myself bonding with complete strangers from other schools and listening to people I didn't even know cheer me on. I've only been in this program for about a month and, although at times it may be painful, I've come to realize that it's not just a program... It's like a family.

Ivonne 

12th Grade, Locke High School

2nd Year Marathoner in Training

       The first race of SRLA started off with three miles at the beach, full of both new and returning runners for the season. I woke up early to meet with the team at Animo Locke High School to wait for the bus to take us to the race. When we arrived at Dockweiler Beach we were all excited. Within minutes the team began to stretch. We all encouraged each other and wished each other good luck. Throughout the race we were encouraged not only by our fellow teammates but by other runners, supporters, and leaders. The best thing about this program is that throughout our practices we have become closer to each other to really create a school family. When it comes to the races we get to meet new people from different schools trying to achieve the same goals. When we finished we waited on our teammates to finish. We cheered each other and when we were all done, we did our chant full of happiness. As we went to the bus to head on home we smiled and were proud of what we had accomplished. 

SRLA Collects Over 18,000 Shoes!

SRLA Collects Over 18,000 Shoes!

On Saturday, August 9th, SRLA collected and counted 18,302 shoes, which appears to break a Guinness World Record for "Most Shoes Collected for Recycling." SRLA spoke with Harry Shabazian, co-founder of SRLA and the man who came up with the idea!

Q: Tell us about the Guinness World Record that SRLA is trying to set?

A:  The old record, which was set by National Geographic Kids based in Washington DC in 2013, was 16,407 individual shoes collected at one time for recycling.  SRLA set a new mark of 18,302 individual shoes collected for recycling.  (Record is not officially broken until authenticated by Guinness World Record).
 
Q: How did the idea for this record come about?

A: I was browsing through the Internet and I came across an article about what the kids from National Geographic had done.  The impression that I got was that they collected shoes primarily through the mail because they reached out to celebrities.  Our approach was much more grass-roots and was much more involved because our students participated in physically gathering the shoes.  After I read the article, it was a no-brainer because doing these little events adds more layers to the experience of our students being involved with SRLA. A criticial component is character deveopment and events like this allow for that to take place.

Q: What were some of the ways in which the shoes were collected?

A: Groups went out and spread the word amongst their given sites.  They had shoe drives and encouraged classrooms to collect shoes. At the end of the year, many of the shcools did locker room cleanouts and shoes were collected.  Runners were also encouraged to look at what they had at home and also spread the word in their communities. Many of the local running stores were also involved with spreading the word to their customers, and they collected over 300 pairs. A few of our Leaders put together makeshift boxes with flyers and gave them to friends who owned local businesses to put out.

Q:  What was your biggest challenge?
Transportation of the shoes was definitely the biggest challenge. It took a fairly lengthy period of time (8 months) and a lot of logistics to get all the shoes to Belvedere Middle School.  I literally transported most of them myself with my little station wagon.  I'd transport 200 pairs at a time and I probably made 45-50 trips with my car filled to the brim each time.

A. How do you top this success?
From what I saw, everyone who was involved was really stoked about what took place.  When I have a goal I know what I'm capable of doing. I had that level of confidence that we could pull it off. It wasn't a difficutl thing to do, but very time consuming. Given that I'm retired, time was on my side.

I saw the level of excitement at the event and it kept growing and growing. When we pulled off the stunt, everyone was really pleased with the end result.  Everyone was saying "What do we do next?"  We will likely see a bit of a spike in our SRLA Cares projects that we do.  Many of the groups are creating their own dynamic and energy and it's infectious, and groups that are not participating will be more apt to jump on board.

Q:  What does SRLA Cares have planned?

SRLA Cares is the facet of our program that each year encompasses a set of events that allow for greater development of awareness amongst our runners.  The awareness is primarily social and environmental needs in which our students can make a positive contribution.

We're planning to do the same projects as last year.  We'll collect pennies for an organization for kids with celebral palsy.  Our canned food drive used to focus on tuna, but this year we'll focus on all canned food. We'll still do clothing drive, toy drive, and recycling stunt, where proceeds will be used for a senior run at the end of the year.   The full list of projects is on our website at www.srla.org/srlacares

Q:  What is your hope for how SRLA can channel this energy?

A:  Our students are remarkable.  I hope that they'll channel this energy to make changes within their own communities.

LA Marathon

Alex
Twelfth grade, Ramon C. Cortines School of the Visual and Performing Arts 

Today, after 7 months of conditioning, I ran the LA Marathon, which is 26.2 miles, from Dodgers Stadium to Santa Monica State Beach for those of you who don't know. It is my first and last year in SRLA as a student; after this year, I'll have to pay for the marathon should I continue to run it the following years on my own. From the beginning, I'd never thought I could make it past 5 miles, but the community kept me going. They continued to encourage meAs time passed, we knocked out all the races from the 5K at Dockweiler Beach, to the 10K at La Puente Main Street (I didn't make it to this one since I injured my ankle at the time :c), to the 15K at Universal Studios, to the Holiday half-marathon at Pomona Fairplex, to the half-marathon at Irvine, to the 18-mile Friendship Run at Hansen Dam, and finally to the LA Marathon.

Of course, the practice runs were also arduous themselves, as we gradually increased our distances from 2 miles to 4 to 6 to 9 to 12 to 16 and finally to 20. We ran every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

The best part of the race was the crowd. The neat thing about our bib number was that it had our names on it. Even as we ran by complete strangers, they called out our names and cheered us on and that kept me strong, which is a really amazing feeling. The high fives that we got as we ran through a line of people also really inspired me to finish strong.

The worst part of the race were the hills and the CRAMPS on my legs towards the last 7 miles or so. x_x That is all I'll say about that since those moments scarred me...

Now, here's the main reason why I'm writing this: I'm glad I was able to join the team this year and make friends with whom I can let loose around. (If any of you reading this go to my school, then most of you know that I'm kinda on the quiet and shy side, but when you get to know me really well, you'll see that I'm quite hyper and dynamic when I'm around people I'm really comfortable with, lol ^_^) I guess what I'm trying to say is that SRLA has given me the chance to change myself a little and improve the way that I want to. For example, during the marathon today, I said, "TURN UP!!!" everytime there was a crowd as I ran with my friends and the crowd responded with enthusiasm and that's what makes me genuinely happy on the inside. Even my friends followed along and I'm glad that they did so since they also felt motivated to keep going! I've changed a lot over these past 4 years in high school and I'm glad SRLA was a part of it.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support all the runners today! It truly made a difference in our running ability. Thank you to the strangers who cheered other strangers on as well (even though none of them will read this...)! Finally, a big thank you to my SRLA group; you guys helped me get through my hardships this year and definitely made my senior year a blast! Hope to see you guys running next year! 

LA Marathon

Alejandro

Eighth grade, Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School

 

This was my first year running for Student Run LA.  The day of the marathon was the day that I have been working for, since the beginning of the first SRLA meeting.  

Before the race took place, I had to just look back to all the good memories I had gone through with the SRLA team at my school. Like remembering that we had gone to the LA Kings Holiday Ice Rink to ice skate, but then the fun part was when I got to meet NBA player, Chris Paul and his family. I got to talk to him for while, but only for an interview for my school newspaper, www.bulldogbugle.com.  Another part of being in SRLA was when the whole team ran to Jack’s Wholesale Candy & Toy because we had accomplished running 18 miles.  The fun part was running in the rain, just to go to get candy from a store. 

         Now the day before the LA marathon, the whole team went to go eat at this restaurant called “Palermo Ristorante Italiano.”  We had problems while trying to get to the restaurant, like we took the wrong subway and we got there late. We may have gotten late to the restaurant, but I had fun during the trip to the restaurant because I took a lot of selfies while on the bus and while walking to the restaurant. When I finally got to our destination, I walked through the doorway and was happy to see that the restaurant has an Italian theme. The food was so delicious that I kept on getting more and more food. Yes, I wasn’t suppose to eat a lot before the race, but I still ate.

          On the day of the race, I put two alarms (my phone and my dad's phone) so if one didn’t work at least I would have another alarm. I woke up at 4:00 and got at school at 4:35 and then waited until 4:45 for the bus to come. The bus then came and took my school’s SRLA team to the Dodgers Stadium, where the beginning of the race started. I waited there for the morning until 7:30.

 

         
         Standing in the line for the race to begin, I was feeling anxious, nervous, and worried, but then I calmed down by remembering all the memories I have gone through with my SRLA team, remembering the good and fun memories. Next thing you know I hear the horn to begin the race.  I had just lost my partner, Moises, who I was going to run the whole marathon with.  I start running to try to find and catch up to my friend, and eventually I did.

           I ran with Moises for the whole marathon. It was great to have a friend who  supported me throughout the race because it would have been harder if I would have ran by myself. We ran all the way throughout the marathon. I saw many of my teachers and cheerleaders from my school that went to support me. I felt happy that I had support from my teachers and the cheerleaders because they kept on screaming to me that you are almost done, you can do this.

           When I saw the twenty-four mile mark, I was tired, walking, feeling exhausted, and felt like I wanted to give up because of the hot weather, but I told myself that you didn’t come this far to just give up. I told my friend, Moises, that we should begin to start running again. So we did.  When I turned around the corner, I finally saw the the finish line. I ran, and ran , and ran. When I got closer to the finish line, I heard people in the crowd screaming, hurray, hurray, you’re almost done!I  Then I started running faster and faster.

 

Finally, I was finished. I started to walk, to go get my medal. I felt happy that I had finished my first marathon. 
  

Jennifer

Seventh grade, Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School

This was my first year participating in SRLA. I have experienced running from one mile up to eighteen miles. All the races have been a great and fun experience. Practicing before every race with the team running to different places has also affected me by meeting and interacting with new people, and I have learned many running techniques.  I  overcame a lot of obstacles along the way during practices and races while preparing for the LA Marathon.  With the day finally coming up to run 26.2 miles, I felt super nervous but excited.

 I had never ran that much so it was a new experience for me. There was a big difference between the marathon and the other races. I seriously thought I was not going to get that tired. I was running through mile 18, and I started feeling frustrated. Running in the sun had a big impact on me because the heat bothered me and I couldn’t concentrate well. While I was running, I started feeling pain and the thing I kept on thinking of was the number of miles I had done.

      When I was running I felt  like stopping and giving up but with the support of people I didn’t even know, I kept on running. I even got to meet someone from another school. I noticed that even while running you can interact with new people that help support you. Having a partner by my side really helped me keep on going and work together. I also enjoyed seeing people running with costumes it made it seem fun. There were people running as Elvis, Mario, Ghost, Minnie Mouse, and much more.

 

      

While I was running I just kept on waiting for the water stations to come.  I loved this day and really want to keep on running. I will say to never give up because either you or even other people you don’t know will push you and you will eventually achieve your goal. 

This was the Best Day of My Life because I got to experience running 26.2 miles even though it was super tiring and almost killed me, but also because I met another SRLA runner, Andrew, along the way that helped me achieve my goal.  Even though we barely met each other, I felt super happy and we became great friends, running together and sharing things about our life!!

 

        

 I will never forget this moment when I ran my first marathon. This has inspired me to keep on running for the rest of my life!! I also accomplished one of my hopes which was to inspire others to stay active and run. I will continue practicing and participating  in future events. 

I would like to thank Andrew for keeping me company and making my first marathon a GREAT experience!! I also want to thank the coaches for all their support and for training me to become a better runner and achieve in life!! Thanks to my team members for being there for me through tough times and supporting me. I will consider my team and coaches as my family because we have gone through funny, sad, exciting, and a lot of emotional moments together. 

I have learned many new things by joining SRLA. I know that I will no matter what I will join SRLA for next year!! I realized that good things come to those who work their butt off and never give up!! The most important thing I learned is that you have to stay motivated because LIFE will  try to beat you up a lot and you have to be PROUD of each and every challenge you came through because the physical and emotional SCARS of those challenge are MEDALS of BRAVERY of NEVER GIVING UP!!!!!    

 

Friendship Run by Mt. Gleason Middle School

On February 2, 2014 the Hansen Dam 18 miler took place.  This was a really important race for me.  It was the last race before the marathon, there was a qualifying time, and it was 18 miles.  I knew this would not only be a physical challenge, but a mental one.

Before the 18 mile race I was a nervous wreck except for occasional confidence boosters.  The pressure of a qualifying time, it being the last race before the marathon, the normal pressure of worrying, and a general lack of enthusiasm made this race quite ominous.  My friends and I did not pass one night without texting each other about how scared we were one week before the race.  Closer and closer the race crept up our back and the more and more scared we became.  The worry of having to go to the bathroom, lack of sleep, lack of food or lack of energy was completely freaking me out!  The thing that made me the most worried was my time.  The only thing I could think of was finishing the race under 4:50 or there would be no marathon for me. 

  It was a dark, cold Sunday morning.  The day of race had finally but sadly come. Truth be told, I prayed for an injury to occur so I would not have to run.  Unfortunately there I was in bed awakened by a text that read “I am worried about today” I got dressed ate breakfast and at 6:10 AM was standing under our tent mentally and physically preparing myself for what I would experience.  5,4,3,2,1 At that moment I said a quick prayer and off I went.  I immediately I felt the pain of every footstep shoot up my calf   It had begun, the longest 3 hours of my life.  My breath began to elevate in sound, my heart was pounding and my legs were burning.  At that point I knew that only being positive would get  me through the pain, the nervousness, and the negativity.  Slower and slower the miles went by.  The first four miles were pure hell.  I felt as if I was walking through fire. Then came mile seven and I got my second wind.  Step by step I was closer to the finish.  My mind set was that after I finished the dam I knew that I would be that much closer to finishing my first 18 mile run.  There I was at the final stretch sprinting my way past the finish line fighting back the tears, and as my foot crossed the pad I knew I had done it.  

When I was handed my medal I experienced mixed emotions.  Some involved a sense of achievement, pride, excitement, relief, and pain.  I was proud of myself for completing something I never thought possible.  I always thought of myself as someone who quits when they think they cannot go any further.   This race was the first wakeup call to the fact that I can do anything.  It also showed me that I should be thankful to every coach, adult, and friend, who told me I could do it because without them this would not be possible.  I was so happy and proud of myself.  It was truly a boost of confidence that I don’t think I could have gotten from anything else.  It was a feeling I will never forget.         

  All the pain, self doubt, and fear I felt was incomparable to the joy I experienced after the race.   I am overjoyed that I joined SRLA because the confidence I gained from knowing I am capable of so much more than I ever thought possible, is indescribable.  I know this race was a true eye opener and all around great experience. I will never forget this truly great day that will remain in my memory forever.

By: Giselle Mota (1^st year runner)

Southern California Half Marathon

Blair High School:

This is Blair's first year with SRLA and the first team from Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley area.  We are very excited to take part of this wonderful program.  I first heard of SRLA during the ASICS LA Marathon when I saw thousands of students in the Pavilion at Dodger Stadium when I did my very first marathon.  Throughout the race I witnessed such great camaraderie amongst the student runners.  My most challeging moments where turned into the most memorable because I realized that these young individuals had made it so far.  It helped giving me the push that I needed.  One learns so much about themselves during a long race and I knew that our students would take so much from such experiences.  Today, I am brought to tears of what our students have accomplished and the growth we have seen from them.  Blair's team leaders Teresa and Raul have been great support in Blair's running family.  We are looking forward to the next races that once seemed impossible but now we approach with confidence and excitement. 

 

-Veronica Y, Blair Team Leader

 

Saidy, Senior at Blair High School

 As we began the half-marathon my mind was blown away at the turn of the first corner we took. About 1500 students and leaders wearing SRLA t-shirts ran along the trail that I’d soon be running on like ants on a sand hill. In that moment I had gained one more reason why I love running which is that I never run alone. Seeing how so many people had chosen to wake up early on a Saturday morning to run 13.1 miles along with me reminded me of the reason why I joined SRLA in the first place. That reason was to accomplish a goal. That morning our goal was to run 13.1 miles however, we all know that that was just a stepping stone for the marathon. Although 26.2 miles may seem impossible there was a time when running a half-marathon was only a dream but SRLA helped me make it a reality. I am truly grateful for the people I have met, the lessons I have learned, and everything I have achieved through SRLA because I never did it alone. Now as the marathon approaches with each day I feel confident in my ability to finish it because I know I will not be running it alone.

Tal, Junior at Blair High School

This is Tal, an 11^th grader at Blair High School who came from Israel a month after our team started training.  She came into our team and hit the ground running as if she were there from day one.  This is what she writes:

After every race that I have participated in, I always come to the same realization. Running incredibly long distance is as much as an individual sport as it is, for lack of a better term, a team sport. It is very self-centered, in the sense that you are all alone, mentally and physically competing against yourself. However, I found that you can run for as long and as fast as you can, but what makes it fun, is the enthusiasm and excitement that is shared between the runners. Not to mention the support that is shared between all the participants, as if we were all one big team.

After running for over an hour and a half in the Southern California Half-Marathon, I remember feeling tired. Maybe it was because of my lack of sleep, or because I was feeling nauseous that morning, but I recall wanting to stop running and walk my way to the finish line, which, by the way, was very foolish of me. However, the feeling of being cheered on by runners and volunteers alike was the most divine feeling at that time. And it most certainly propelled me straight to the finish line, without a second thought.

As mundane as it sounds, the weather was great for a race. I probably would have liked it better if there were some clouds to block the sun, but that didn’t discourage me from running and finishing the race.

As for the highlights from the race, I remember enjoying the live band that was posted somewhere along mile 4 or 5. Also, my friend absent-mindedly ran into a pole, while we were talking during the race, which was very funny. I also clearly remember that by the time I reached mile 13, I wished I could go back in time to build Marathon a little closer to Athens, so I wouldn’t have to run that pesky 0.1 mile, which I always seem to forget about.

I also overheard two girls fighting over what they were going to eat after the race. One girl said she didn’t want to get fries, while the other ensured her that by the end of the race she will passionately crave some french fries. As for myself, after the run, I kept my tradition and stopped by Costco for a victory churro and sundae.

Since my pacing-buddy had to use the restrooms during the race, I allowed myself to stop my own stopwatch during that time. By the end of the race I beat my (only) personal best time by a total of five minutes. I couldn’t have been more proud. Prior to joining my SRLA group at school, running was only a fun hobby. Never would I have imagined that I would run and finish, not one, but two half-marathons. I can’t wait for March.