Jeff for America

I’ve recently started getting serious about running. There’s something about it that clears my head and keeps me grounded. It’s not that I particularly like running, though. I’ll often question myself at the start of a run, wondering what I’m doing there, staring at the pavement and my feet and hoping they will slow down or just stop altogether. But then I lose all control and the pain goes away and I can breathe and think without worrying about the next step, or the next day or the next mile.

I’ve gotten so into running lately that I started a Run Club at school for the kids. As part of our elective program, I get to run during school hours with a group of about 14 students. Some are a bit lazy, but most of them are invested in getting better and running further each week. For those kids, it’s worth all the work. And as part of my work with them, I wanted to integrate a some good ol’ goal setting into the program since, as I tell the kids, running is all about setting goals.

It’s true, really. Unlike some of my classroom mantras, this one is not as much of a stretch. As a new runner myself, I’ve set goals every few weeks and started tracking my progress and pushing myself further and further. Just this weekend, I met my 5 mile mark with ease. Just a month ago, I wouldn’t have made it. But consistency and a solid, ambitious, yet realistic goal, has gotten me there.

For the kids, this type of thinking doesn’t necessarily come naturally. It needs to be spelled out, and repeated and discussed and illustrated and played out in their daily lives. So that’s what I’ve done. The runners keep track of their progress and thoughts about each run in a Goal Journal I keep in my classroom. And they have two distance goals I’ve set for them this trimester.

The first, a 5k (3 mile) run, was a success for the two that showed up on time (the third kid was too late). The race was last weekend and, spanning from the Art Museum along West River Drive, it’s a beautiful route. The boys that showed up were not completely convinced they would make, but I was sure the adrenaline provided by the hundreds of fellow runners would pull them through. It was my first race so I, too, was depending on their presence to make it.

The run itself wasn’t as bad as I expected. I had only run 3 miles once before, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. There’s always a fear in the back of my mind that prevents me from feeling confident. What if I step wrong, sprain an ankle, my knee starts to buckle, I get a headache…I have to pee! But, like always, 10 minutes in I forgot all that and just ran.

I decidedly stayed back with one of the boys, JP, to keep an eye on him. We talked here and there to keep our minds distracted, and at one point, JP said,

“If I finish this race, Mr. Manassero, I will be so proud of myself. I’ll know I can do anything.”

And I had nothing to say but to agree with him. It made up for the fact that 11 of his classmates were still home sleeping. And it provided just enough motivation to probably last a marathon.

But I stopped at the 3 mile mark. Because that was our goal.

Our next race is an 8k (5 miles) in two weeks. I’ve ratcheted up the training and am signing up all the kids, whether the cross the finish line running or not.

This whole running thing may just turn out to be my favorite part of teaching.

- Jeff