Bell On The Run
Students Run LA helps Bell students develop life skills and train their bodies to run long distances. They also learn to help others in need.
April 27, 2022
Students Run Los Angeles, known as SRLA, is a nonprofit program that helps middle and high school students train for the LA marathon.
Math teacher Gabriel Sanchez also runs these marathons.
“We do character building right from the beginning so it’s not just about running the marathon,“ Sanchez said. “It teaches the kids to build up discipline.”
When he was a kid, Sanchez’s father was his inspiration to run. Sanchez asked his father why he ran so much, so his father challenged him to run as well, and try to become better than him. During high school, Sanchez ran cross country and got some scholarships. He had a really good time running and was able to build up self-confidence and make many friendships.
Sanchez encourages students to also run and to participate in the marathons because he wants his students to be able to enjoy and accomplish something most people can’t do.
On March 20, 2022, 36 students and eight adults from Bell High participated in the LA Marathon, but before they can run the marathon there are practices and projects students do to help them develop.
Although the main focus of the marathon is running, students are taught to give back and become better people overall.
For example, on October 27, 2019, the SRLA Cares which is a program that creates little projects to raise social, environmental, and community awareness had a project where students collected pennies. That money gained was donated to the United Cerebral palsy.
“One penny by itself might not be significant but if you take a bunch of pennies from a bunch of people you end up getting a lot of money that could be used for a lot of good things,” Sanchez said.
They also collected pasta and donated it to support MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity) which is a program meant to help those in need. On March 8, 2020, they had a race dedicated to learning the importance of giving back.
Senior Estefanie Garrido participated in past marathons. The March 20, 2022 race was her fifth one. She has autism and during an 18-mile race, which is the last event done before running the marathon, she wanted to give up.
“I had a lot of self-doubt and thoughts about me forcing myself to do it,“ Estefanie said.
Luckily Math teacher Sanchez chatted with her for a while and was able to convince her to stay with the program and keep practicing.
Back in middle school, Estefanie got the opportunity to run during summer school.
“It’s not that difficult as long as you have a good team and coach,“ Estefanie said.
Estefanie was able to finish her 5th marathon and received a medal for her accomplishments.
“It’s not about how fast they are. The goal is to finish the marathon,” Sanchez said.
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Jessica Gonzalez Ms. Jonasson Period 1 • May 20, 2022 at 11:16 pm
I found this article very informative. I liked the information about what SRLA is. I liked how coach Sanchez inspires other students to keep on going. Students get to do new things as it states how the main focus of the marathon is for students to become better people. Something I found meaningful is how Coach Sanchez encourages students to run and it’s something they will enjoy. You don’t just run, but you get to meet new people as well when doing SRLA. Overall the students enjoy running and they get all of the practice they need.
Valerie • May 24, 2022 at 2:58 pm
Coach Sanches tries his best to encourage every student!
Mariana Malagon Ms. Jonasson per 5 • May 19, 2022 at 2:52 pm
I really liked this article. There are many reasons why I liked this article. What really caught my attention was how Mr Sanchez was encouraged by his dad and how now he encourages his students. It shows how the coach, Mr. Sanchez encourages his students to achieve running marathons. He is a supportive coach, giving his student’s advice and making them feel more positive about themselves. I also like how he shows his student’s how to give back to the people in need. What inspired the most was when Mr.Sanchez said, “It’s not about how fast they are. The goal is to finish the marathon.” He is showing his students how they can believe in themselves and it doesn’t matter how fast other people are and they should just know if they finish that they accomplished it.
Valerie Arroyo Ms. Jonasson Period 1 • May 18, 2022 at 11:51 am
I find the article really inspiring because the way Mr. Sanchez is making people want to run and making sure they know that they have accomplished something that most people can’t do. I like the way he encouraged Estefanie to not give up and to stay in the program. I was extremely happy to hear that Estefanie was able to complete so many marathons. When Estefanie said that “I had a lot of self-doubt and thoughts about me forcing myself to do it.” It made me happy she did not give up the program. I like the way Mr. Sanchez was inspired by his own father and Mr. Sanchez is inspiring others to make the goals be accomplished. “It teaches the kids to build up discipline,” which is amazing because they will know the worth of them running the marathons. SRLA and Mr. Sanchez have come a long way and it is amazing to see they are accomplishing their goals.
Valerie Arroyo Ms. Jonasson period 1 • May 18, 2022 at 9:46 am
I really liked reading this article because Mr. Sanchez encourages students not to doubt themselves. He is a really inspiring person when he says that “We do character building right from the beginning so it’s not just about running the marathon.” He shows a very positive attitude. When I read that Estefanie was able to finish her 5th marathon and received a medal for her accomplishment, I felt happy for her because she had self-doubt about doing the runs. Also how Mr. Sanchez talked to her and convinced her to stay in the program because he wants people to accomplish what others cannot do. Mr. Sanchez is inspired by his father and now he is inspiring people to keep running.
Rodolfo.Ms jonasson • May 16, 2022 at 6:20 pm
I really like this article. It’s very positive and talked about SRLA. You don’t have to be fast, you have to be smart and have the strength. It’s good because lot of students don’t like to run but at the end it’s fun. Sanchez said you don’t have to be fast, you have to have the strength and power to do what you like. It’s not about being fast. You battle at the end of the day and you try. It’s about fun and running for LA. Running is fun and gives you the mental fight for your body. A lot of people don’t like running, they just like staying back and not do anything. If you don’t like doing anything else, running is one other to do in life.
Alin Montero , Ms. Jonasson ,period 2 • May 16, 2022 at 10:03 am
I really like this article. I think it’s very positive and inspiring. I like what coach Sanchez said “It’s not about how fast they are, the goal is to finish the marathon.” I think this is a good thing to say because a lot of students don’t try (especially running) because they think they’re not ‘’fast enough ‘’ or ‘’good enough. ’’ When it’s really just about practice and staying dedicated even when you feel like you’re gonna give up. At the end of the day the battle’’ if you could do something or not’’ isn’t with your body, it’s all mental. Don’t let nothing stop you, you can do it.
Valerie • May 24, 2022 at 2:54 pm
I agree if you put your mind to something you’ll definitely be able to do it