Beginning
in mid-January, as high school students were easing back into the second
semester, a small group of UCHS students started running. Two miles at first
and gradually working up to longer runs three days a week after school. After a
few weeks, the running group from UCHS started meeting with students from eight
other area high schools for long runs in Forest Park on Saturday mornings –
eventually working up to an 11-mile Saturday morning run. These were Students
on the Go! Students with a goal of completing the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon.
Forest Park Visitor's Center - the Saturday
morning meeting place for long runs.
Students on the GO! is
a program designed to train high school students to run or walk (or a
combination of both!) the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon each April. Students
embark on a personal journey of self-discovery where they explore and
experience the lifelong benefits of a comprehensive health and fitness program.
At UCHS, teachers Carol Hackmeyer, Liza Harkins, and Brian Ashley coordinated,
coached, and encouraged the student runners.
There were material incentives as well. As they
progressed in their training, students were given running gear to benefit their
running, including running shoes, running jacket, and a technical running shirt
(for us non-runners that is a lightweight shirt that transfers moisture away
from the skin to keep runners dry and comfortable). The program is provided at no cost by the GO! St. Louis organization.
In its second year, just over 200 students completed the Students on the GO! training – 15
were from UCHS. On the Friday evening before the big event, all of the metro
area Students on the Go! and their families gathered at UCHS for a pasta dinner
(great carbo loading) and some words of wisdom from some of the elite runners
in town to compete for the $10,000 top prize for the half marathon. What a
treat for the kids to meet Mattie Suver
who went on to win the women’s half marathon title, setting a new course record
with 1:12:22.
Students on the GO! hosted a pasta party at UCHS.
Mattie Suver is in the back in the red jacket.
Just as they were at the Saturday runs, on hand were Nancy Lieberman,
president and founder of GO!St. Louis, which began in 2000, and Jesse Novotney,
director of youth programs. Ben Rosario, co-founder of Big River Running
stores and now with McMillan Running, provided the inspirational speech. The
student runners then peppered the elite runners with questions on how to
prepare for the race – questions like what to eat, when to go to bed, and how to tackle hills.
When the big day arrived the runners met at
5:30 a.m. to get their race bibs and catch the bus that would take them
downtown. There they joined 15,000 other runners preparing to race through the streets of St.
Louis.
15,000 runners cross the starting line.
The elite runners must have provided good
advice as all the UCHS runners completed all 13.1 miles of the race. Some were a little sore, but all of
them had bragging rights to their first half marathon.
Just some of the UCHS Students on the Go! after the race
with teacher-coaches Liz Harkins and Brian Ashley.
