Suverkrup Bulldogs blaze (virtual) trails across the country
At H.L. Suverkrup Elementary School, a running club is keeping students physically fit and socially engaged. In a Tuesday presentation to the Crane School District governing board, physical education teacher Tiffany Ott shared that the Marathon Kids running club has engaged over 150 students – better known as the “Blazin’ Bulldogs” – before school and during P.E. class, with more students submitting parent-signed permission slips to join daily.
Now in its second year at H.L. Suverkrup, the Nike-sponsored club brings third- through sixthgrade students together one to three mornings a week for a corporate run, walk or jog, or a
combination of all three.
“I have some kids that will walk a mile, I have some kids who run three miles in 30 minutes,” Ott said. “It’s for everyone.”
To track their mileage, students wear a lanyard with a QR code, which Ott scans with her iPad at the starting line. Since returning to in-person learning last month, the group has run over 700 miles – and “that wasn’t even with the whole crew,” Ott said.
Currently, the pack of trailblazers are running a virtual marathon across the United States. Designed to help students who are learning remotely stay connected to the group, they’ve run from Yuma to Flagstaff, through Roswell, New Mexico, and on to Abilene and Dallas, Texas, before pausing in Louisiana.
As of mid-March, the group has covered a total of 2,800 miles. To “enhance the kids’ visualization” of just how far that is, a U.S. map hangs outside Ott’s classroom, where she tracks everyone’s progress. This graphic is also available on Google Classroom, so that students learning remotely can fully participate.
As the club’s coach, Ott also doubles as its tour guide, providing students with information on each stop they make, from the 1947 UFO incident Roswell is known for to postsecondary opportunities housed by the Pelican State.
“There’s a lot of universities and colleges in Louisiana, and it was a great conversation for kids to see,” Ott said.
For fifth-grader Tyler Conkey, who currently holds second place in the continental race, Marathon Kids is a source of friendship and camaraderie.
“I joined because I thought it would be a good opportunity to get outside and interact with other kids,” said Conkey. “I like it because it gives us the chance to get outside and get the physical activity that we need during the day.”
The club is also a source of rivalry between students, teachers and their classrooms.
“They’re very competitive; I’ve got students who ask, ‘Can you let me run for 15 minutes? I need to pass Tyler,’” Ott said. “If it’s windy, if it’s sprinkling (rain), if it’s 105, they don’t care – all they want to do is get out there and run.”
According to Ott, each runner has four milestones that they work toward: 26.2 miles (their first marathon), 52.4 miles (their second marathon), 78.6 miles (a third) and 104.8 miles (the fourth and final marathon). Currently, four of Ott’s students are about to become third-time marathon runners.
Last school year, the two marathon champions each ran 130 miles – and that was just until February, the last month of in-person learning before COVID-19 school closures. “There’s no knowing how far they could have gone,” Ott said.
The running club also serves as an academic motivator.
“If you don’t have your homework done or your morning work, you’re not allowed to participate,” Ott said. “A lot of these kids will get in there and get their work done because they want to come out and run.
For Ott, it’s her students’ determination and the enjoyment they find in the running club that make it worthwhile.
“When the bell rings at eight o’clock in the morning and I hear 50 to 100 little feet roaring down the hallway, it makes me so excited that these kids are so excited to go out and run,” said Ott. “That’s what makes me happy.”