My last blog post was posted right around when I started training for my marathon and it took several months of training and the actual marathon (and recovery weeks!) to finally write a new post that is not coincidentally about running AND teaching. And while the connection between the two may not be obvious at first, bear with me, there is!
I was never really a runner or a very athletic kid to begin with. It took a lot of effort to run 5km at the mere age of 24! Then just 6 years later I ran my first 10km which finally got me going and I soon ran my first half marathon in Colombia where I was living (and teaching). But then shortly after, when I moved to Guadalajara, I joined a very active running community at my school, running my first trail race which was supposed to be 10km but soon became closer to 16km! I would love to say running then became my norm but injuries and life managed to get in the way. Though students and the running community would sucker me into a race or two. Finally, two years later, one fateful summer afternoon at the cottage with my family, I registered for a half marathon and the full marathon, with the hopes that some of my running team would join me. They did!
I share a lot with my students – pictures of my dog, my family, adventures hiking up mountains, and, the fact that I was training for a marathon. I suppose I should give teenagers more credit but who would expect a 16 year old to be interested in marathon training stories on a Monday morning at 8am? However, I like to share stories like this because I think kids needs role models in their life for all the various, beautiful, joy inducing, character building activities that are out there (sometimes I just need to kill time as I’m booting up my computer). Though some of my students are in fact runners (very fast ones too!). I have a track runner, a half-marathon runner and a triathlete, among many soccer players, horseback riders and golf players. And much to my surprise, the marathon training and the race itself stuck with them.
But back to that running team. My assistant principal, and friend also trained for his first marathon with me. We shared stories about our runs: discovering a corn field at the end of the Vía Recreactiva (recreational route with major streets closed for running, walking, biking, etc.), getting chased by a pitbull at the end of a 28km training run, injuries, remedies and general joys and woes of marathon training. We even did our last training run together during lunch break :). Our school director, who had already accomplished the laudable feat of qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon, joined our marathon by doing a relay race with other very lovely members of our school community: an alum, a teacher, and a parent! Then came our friends, family and loved ones, who are definitely part of the team too.
When race day came after about 4 months of training, I was ecstatic. My two goals were to run the whole race and to really enjoy it and I’m happy to report I accomplished both. In full English teacher fashion, I had so many philosophical moments: when someone handed me a sweet, juicy and fresh orange slice that really helped me get through at least 3km it reminded me of all the sweet moments in life, especially when they come when you’ve been sweating through more difficult things. All this led me to think of life as a marathon – it’s going to finish one way or another and how you run the hills, the painful moments, and how much you enjoy the sweet moments, a gatorade stand, is really up to you. A marathon is hard but who are we kidding, so is life. And I really tried to enjoy every moment – I mean I high fived every kid along the route, said hello to every friend who came to support me, and smiled for every picture. I made sure to share all this cheesy stuff with my kids on Monday morning too! I was on a runner’s high, I laid it on them!
That Monday morning I showed up pretty tired, ready for a regular day of tired teaching and boy was I blown away. From really sweet e-mails from students congratulating me on my race to donuts accompanied with the kindest congratulations, to full blown classroom decorations (orchestrated with the help of my principal) and cake – for a not very emotional person I’m not sure when I choked up more: when I finished the marathon or when my students surprised me the next day.
And here’s where it really comes back to teaching. We don’t actually have a way of knowing what sticks in our students’ minds, aside, of course, from assessments that show their knowledge. But what about everything else? All the things that don’t show up on a test? Compassion, caring, forgiveness, jokes, laughter, frustrations, play, wisdom, courage, failures, empathy, stress, anger, growth? My philosophy is to share as much good as possible and hope for the best, because apparently a lot sticks. Plus, we never know what inspiration we can potentially bring for the future.
