Young Athletes' Dedication Brings Marathon Success
Nonprofit Students Run Oakland celebrates Los Angeles race, life skills
Chauncey Bailey
Posted in the Oakland Tribune
March 23, 2005
OAKLAND — Seventeen-year-old Fred Jones of Oakland says he doesn’t get as angry as he once did.
“My goals now are to go to college and take care of my grandmothers,” Jones said last week during a ceremony for Students Run Oakland.
Jones said his new attitude stems from his involvement with the local nonprofit group, which uses training for a marathon to teach young people self-esteem, discipline, goal-setting and perseverance — skills also needed for success in life.
“I wanted to try new things, and I wanted to run for the friends I have lost” to violence in Oakland, said Jones, sitting next to his grandmothers and holding a Best Pre-Marathon Hype Man certificate.
Jones was one of 53 youths who completed the 26.2-mile Los Angeles Marathon on March 6 after five months of training in Oakland.
Eight young people signed up to run in 2000, the year after the nonprofit began. Last year, there were 23. Ninety signed up this season, with 53 completing the race.
One girl enlisted her friends. Another runner carried a friend the final mile in Los Angeles. Severe blisters didn’t sideline another competitor. And a runner who failed to qualify last year came back this year and finished.
“Some of you couldn’t run a half-block, now you’ve run a marathon … this shows you can achieve anything you want in life,” said Alphonzo Jackson, a runner for more than 30 years and the group’s coach.
At the nonprofit’s Finish Line Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Friday, Jackson donned a white-and-blue print track suit he wore when he was among runners selected to carry the Olympic torch one year.
“It’s a fantastic program,” said Frank Rose, an East Oakland community leader and Students Run Oakland board member. Rose helped secure a charter bus service for after-school and weekend workouts and events.
“This program gives inner-city young people (running) shoes and then the inspiration they need to excel in life,” Rose said.
At the dinner, a video of the season’s highlights was shown, and there were congratulatory remarks from Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, who came with a resolution declaring the day Students Run Oakland Day in Oakland.
Spencer Hooper, Students Run Oakland executive director, said, “I want to see this room bigger next season.”
Obesity rates among teenagers are a growing concern for health care professionals who say poor eating habits, high-fat fast foods and a lack of regular exercise pose a serious health risk.
“The public Health Department is proud of you … we are going to find a way to support you,” Anthony Iton, Alameda County health officer, told the gathering of runners, parents and volunteers. “I run 41/2 miles every day … to think you young people ran a marathon blows me away.”
Tiffany Bell, a professional fitness trainer who has worked with NFL players, worked with some of the young runners.
“Stretching is very important,” Bell said. “I also push nutrition, massage therapy and injury prevention. You have to know who has high blood pressure.”