Eastbluff on the run

Elementary school athletes are awarded for completing their school’s running program and giving adults a run for their money in the OC Marathon. Teddy Parks had never entered the Orange County marathon before he ran five kilometers in the event last Sunday. His biggest competition in the past had been the 2005 Spirit Run in Newport Beach -- when he wasn’t even watching the clock.

“Then I wasn’t racing,” said Teddy, 10, a fifth-grader at Eastbluff Elementary School. “I was just trying to finish it.”

This week, he did that and more. With his school sending a team to the marathon for the first time, Teddy came in first in the five-kilometer race for the men’s 12-and-under division, besting his competition with a time of 20 minutes and 54 seconds.

“I was planning to get first, but I’m kind of surprised,” he said afterward.

His sentiment was a common one at Eastbluff on Thursday morning, when youth running coach Bill Sumner presented medals to the 32 students who finished the Orange County Kids Marathon. To earn the medal, participants had to complete 25 miles in practice runs and then, on the big day, crank out at least 1.2 miles in the annual race -- equaling the total marathon distance of 26.2 miles.

“Couple [our running program] with our healthy eating plan, and we’ve got some really healthy kids at Eastbluff,” said Eastbluff Principal Charlene Metoyer.

Of the 118 students in Eastbluff’s running program, which covers kindergarten through the sixth grade, 58 ran in the Orange County Marathon (only 32 had completed the practice miles). Most ran in the 1.2-mile race, but eight students took on the more challenging 5K course.

20060113it07znncKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Victoria Ashley Martinez bows her head to receive a medal for running in the OC Marathon, as students Kirby Morrow, left, Matthew Daruty and Nicole Andrews take part in an awards ceremony at Eastbluff Elementary School on Thursday morning.