Students Run Philly Style 2008

students run philly style 2008

Thursday after school, I was in my classroom working on lesson plans, as usual. Ms. ...., popped her head in and had asked me if I could help her out with her and her runners. She needed somebody to stand at 17th and Girard, while 12 of the 7th and 8th grade runners ran around Gesu School and St. Joe's Prep, which is probably equivalent to 1/3 of a mile. I timed them 15-minutes and cheered 'em on! (Need I remind you, most of these students are obese, out of shape, unmotivated, low self-esteemed, inner-city kids.)

It was fun, despite the fact, about 100 yards from me were 5 cop cars, a ton of cops carrying off a fellow from off the ground, who had literally hit one of our students.

Anyways, after the run, we stretched for about 10-minutes, and as we were walking back into the school, one of the 7th grade girls put her arm around me and had asked me if I was going to their meet this weekend. S...., she is one of the most stubborn, confused, mean, yet sweet girls that you'll ever meet. I met her 2 summers ago, and I had the honor to go to Cape May, New Jersey with her and a bunch of our students last summer for Whale-Watching as a side-trip, although we only saw dolphins, it was awesome! She is awesome. Like I said, she's stubborn, so you have to catch her on a good day, but even at her bad moments, she still carries a slight smirk on her face. She and her older sister, S...., live down the street and the neighborhood...it's not pretty. So anyways, a little side-tracked. She and I kinda grew on each other. I'm pretty damn stubborn myself and we just click. She was one of the reasons why I chose to go to their meet today instead of the FACAA.

I don't even know where to start with how I was feeling at this first meet...I honestly didn't know what I was getting into until we hopped onto a school bus with 13 of our 7th and 8th graders, rowdy as always, yes, even early as 8-in-the-morning! And hungry as always, which reminds me, I'm bringing in snacks for our next meet.

So, there were 550 members (kids and adults from all over Philly) and that's not including the many, many volunteers who helped out with this training for a marathon for the youth. This particular run is for teens from 12-17 yrs. old, most of whom come from the sketchy parts of town (which to me is anywhere in Philly). Inner-city kids coming together to prove to everyone and themselves that they are worth...worth something! I mean, if you met them, you'd know they are worth so much, but after this marathon or even during training, they'll learn to believe this fact for themselves.

Getting off the bus, we ran to our destination in the pouring rain. When we got in, they had snacks and a short documentary for us. The documentary was about five 17-year old students from Oakland, CA, who struggle in their daily lives such as our Philly students, but after running a 26-mile marathon, they felt like they could conquer the world. I mean, wouldn't you? It was so inspiring and so touching, I was ready to take on any obstacle, but this isn't about ME! As I was watching our kids, A.... was playing with R....'s braids, K.... was playing Tetris on his phone, while J.... was watching intently with a huge smile on his face. J.... is a character. Shy, but determined. I was telling him about Oakland, and how before I left Cali, I felt like Oakland's crime-rate was what kept me from visiting more often. When I moved to Philly, in my mind Oakland was the relevancy to Philly. (Philly's homicide rate is about three to four-times higher.)

After the documentary, we walked through the school, played some Ice-Breakers like a Get-to-Know/Meet and Greet BINGO game and Steal the Bacon-like relay races in the gym. We made some cheers, ate lunch, and I watched the hormonal boys stalk the girls from other schools and the girls giggle at the boys from the other schools. HILARIOUS! We took a group photo with our neon green STUDENTS RUN PHILLY STYLE shirts as our "before picture" and cheered for those who have finished one or more marathons, they were the celebrities of the morning. H...., Ms. ....'s 5-year old daughter, finished 3/4 of a marathon, last year, and I don't know about you, but that's pretty damn impressive! She was my little side-kick today, funny little one. Lots of energy and old in spirit. She was telling our teens about "cooties" and "lowering" their voices on the bus. Old spirit trapped in a tiny body.

So, my point...just excited about this. We will meet the same group of people, the other students again next month, in April. The marathon will be in November 2008 on Broad Street, Philadelphia, 26-miles. Come cheer us...them on! I see so much potential in these students and hopefully soon, they will see it, too!

I feel like this is a win-win situation for me. I'm so glad to be a part of the Students Run Philly Style. We chanted: Who are we? STUDENTS! What do we do? RUN! How do we do it? PHILLY STYLE!

Eh, eh, you like that?

Check out this link. I'll be on those same steps (Museum of Art-where "Rocky" ran up) with my kids in November! http://www.fasttracksrunning.org/studentsrunphillystyle.html