FEATURES
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A13
S E T T I N G T H E P AC E
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
ABOVE: A group of McNary Heights Elementary fi fth-graders run around the perimeter of the school’s grass fi eld during recess on Monday while participating in the McNary
Marathon in Umatilla. BELOW: Carol Clements uses a hole punch to mark student score cards as they complete a lap.
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
O
n Monday morning,
some students from
McNary Heights Ele-
mentary School ran at full
speed around the perimeter of
the school’s grass fi eld, while
others took a slower approach.
All of them were work-
ing toward the school’s fi tness
goals, as part of the 33rd annual
McNary Marathon, which had
started that day. The marathon
is a two-week event, where stu-
dents are encouraged to spend
their 20-minute lunch recess
doing laps around the fi eld.
Mairiani Aparicio fl ew
through the laps. The sec-
ond-grader will start track this
week, and said she is looking
forward to getting better at the
sport.
“My favorite thing being out
here is to run fast,” she said.
While not all students were
sprinting, most said they enjoy
getting out and walking or jog-
ging a few laps every day.
Several of them set goals
for themselves, to run a certain
amount each day, or by the end
of the two weeks.
“I want to do 10 laps in one
day,” said second-grader Ary-
anna Banda.
“The kids will fi ne-tune,”
said Principal Rick Cotterell.
“They pace themselves over
the two weeks.”
Each student is given a card,
and adults are stationed at each
corner of the fi eld to punch
the card every time they com-
plete a lap. Each student aims
to complete a certain number
of laps in the two-week period,
to meet grade level standards.
After the two-week event
is over, school P.E. teacher
Brandt Lind said they will have
an assembly. Children who met
the standard, as well as those
who ran the most laps, get rec-
ognized. Students also have the
opportunity to win prizes for
CRYPTOQUIP
completing laps.
He said the point of the
event is to encourage all levels
of fi tness, rather than to run a
certain distance. Still, he said,
there are students who will run
the whole time, and cover a lot
of ground.
“If a fourth- or fi fth-grader
can make it above 80 laps in
eight days, essentially they’re
doing a couple of miles each
day, which is pretty impres-
SUPER CROSSWORD: HALF WIT
sive,” he said.
Lind said they encourage
the students to set personal
goals.
“It’s the idea that fi tness is
an investment,” he said. “You
put something in, and you get
something back.”
There are several run-
ning-themed programs at
McNary Heights. The Mar-
athon happens every spring,
and fi fth-grade teacher Frankie
Garcia runs the McNary USA
program, a cross-country team
for students. The kids prac-
tice every day during the fall,
and once a week during track
season.
“We have some third- and
fourth-graders who are really
good,” he said. “Track starts
this week, so this (the mara-
thon) gets them excited and in
shape.”
Cotterell, who went to
McNary Heights, said he
remembers doing the McNary
Marathon when he was a stu-
dent. He said they hope to
invest more in the program.
“We’ve been working on
a grant to put in a trail, so we
wouldn’t have to put cones on
the fi eld,” Cotterell said. “And
I’d love in the future to look
into some kind of technology
to track laps and get rid of the
cards.”
Lind said he’s pleased the
marathon has been such a suc-
cess over the years.
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