On Sunday, May 21st, what began as a cloudy, wet morning turned dry by the afternoon, some of my students and I ran the 5-a Day 5K in the city of Hawthorne. This small race (so small I came in 9th in my division!) was put on by the Hawthorne School District and took place at the Hawthorne Airport. My fourth grade class and I had been preparing for this race for some time. The week before the race, we had a practice 5K race at my school so that my students could get a feel for the distance. I told my students that they all to finish no matter what--that was the goal. The time did not matter. What mattered was finishing. We called it the “Speedsters 5K”, after our running club. I gave my students bibs to wear and they each ran 28 laps around our small track! I gave certificates to each finisher and prizes to the top 3 winners in the boys division and the girls division.
On the day of the Hawthorne 5K, fifteen of my students showed up, including students from my last year’s class. I invited my whole staff to participate but only 2 teacher aides wanted to take part, which is a start! This was the aides’ first 5K! I even convinced my principal to participate! She expressed some interest and I kept hounding her for her entry fee and challenging her to do it and she did!
The race started on the runway of the airport and then onto the streets of the city. It wasn’t the most spectacular race, scenery-wise, but it was a race nonetheless! My students all finished and really enjoyed it. They were tired but I could tell they were very proud of themselves. Three of my students placed in their division (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and won a plaque! All of the kids got medals for their efforts. My principal, who had never run a 5K before, placed 1st in her division! She was very excited and now may consider doing more 5Ks!
It was a great day for my class and I and they’re still talking about it to this day. As one student said, “I felt great when I did the 5K. When you want to do something, you can really do it. You just have to believe.”