PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Numerous Northeast Philadelphia high school students, and the teachers who inspired them to run, will join the thousands of runners who will take to the city streets during Sunday’s Philadelphia Marathon.
Kaley Lankford teaches Spanish at Frankford High School. For the last six years, she has been a coach with Students Run Philly Style, something she would have never imagined doing when she was a student.
“As an adult, I have found just how wonderful it can be as a sport [for] mental health maintenance and a more balanced life overall,” said Lankford.
“I joined ‘Students Run’ so I could encourage the next generation to be better athletes than I was at their age.”
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This weekend’s marathon will be the first for Lankford and the two students she coaches.
She said their hundreds of hours of training together has helped them bond and grow without the confinement of the classroom.
“We’ve been able to talk about trivial things, but then also what’s been going on in life,” Lankford said. “It’s been incredible to get to know the guys.”
Miguyel Quinones, a sophomore at Frankford, is one of the students running the marathon with Lankford. He said he’s learned a lot through this experience.
“To keep practicing, keep going further than before,” said Quinones.
Frankford junior Jaiden Hill, who’s also running the marathon, said the training has already made him feel like a winner, but he does have some goals.
“Finish,” Hill simply said, “and chillax.”
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Lankford has more than a dozen students running in various races over the weekend. They’ll be joining runners that School District of Philadelphia high school counselor Jill Morris has coached.
Morris has also run and completed 14 Philadelphia Marathons.
“To watch students go from no confidence and not being able to run, to be able to do a half-marathon or to do a full marathon is amazing,” said Morris.
Morris explained that the goal for her and her students is to make it to the finish line, in the shadow of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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She said her students are always her motivation, and that was never more true than last year when a student she helped train helped her along the way.
“Honestly, I might have tapped out if it weren’t for her, but I focused on her and not on me,” Morris admitted.
The marathon begins for runners at 7 a.m. Sunday, with wheelchairs starting at 6:55 a.m. A half-marathon, eight-kilometer race and kids’ fun run are scheduled for Saturday.
Click here for road closure information for the marathon and related events.