March 2011 T he 16 th annual Friendship Run at Hansen Dam, presented by Rebecca and Richard Lewis, took place on February 6, 2011. This year’s event was put on with the support of Los Angeles City Council District 7, Councilmember Richard Alarcón and Costco Wholesale. The assistance of Councilmember Alarcón’s office staff was instrumental in the planning and success of the Friendship Run. Other sponsorships came from Merrill Lynch, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, NBC Universal , and Natixis Global Associates. A thank you also goes to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks for use of the park facilities, support from the park maintenance staff, and use of the aquatics facility parking area. A special thank you to Senior Park Ranger Mission Statement The mission of Students Run LA is to challenge at-risk secondary students to experience the benefits of goal-setting, character development, adult mentoring and improved health by providing them with a truly life-changing experience: The training for and completion of the Honda LA Marathon. 1 Volume 19 | Issue 2 (Continued on page 6) On Your Marks! In It For The Long Run
Transcript
March 2011
The 16th annual Friendship Run at Hansen Dam, presented by Rebecca and Richard Lewis, took place on February 6, 2011.
This year’s event was put on with the support of Los Angeles City Council District 7, Councilmember Richard Alarcón and Costco Wholesale. The assistance of Councilmember Alarcón’s office staff was instrumental in the planning and success of the Friendship Run. Other sponsorships came from Merrill Lynch, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, NBC Universal, and Natixis Global Associates. A thank you also goes to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks for use of the park facilities, support from the park maintenance staff, and use of the aquatics facility parking area. A special thank you to Senior Park Ranger
Mission Statement
The mission of
Students Run LA is to
challenge at-r isk
secondar y students to
experience the benefits
of goal-setting,
character development,
adult mentoring and improved
health by providing
them with a truly
life-changing experience:
The training for
and completion of
the Honda LA Marathon.
1
Volume 19 | Issue 2
(Continued on page 6)
On Your Marks!
In It ForThe Long Run
2
From the OfficeMarsha Rosny Ginny Nikki Phyllis
We are counting down the days! The Honda LA Marathon is on Sunday, March 20th, and our
students and their volunteer Leaders are ready for the challenge. The students have completed our annual 18-Mile Friendship Run and have earned their second pair of running shoes. (Thank you, again, Nike!)
The SRLA Friendship Run…
…presented by Rebecca and Richard Lewis. The Lewis’ have been the presenting sponsors of the race for nine years. Their continuing support has been essential to the success of this event each year. Thank you also to our Board members for eliciting new sponsorships and support from:
•Merrill Lynch
• Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy• NBC Universal • Natixis Global AssociatesBoard member Helen Yñiguez and Costco Wholesale also provided tremendous resources to SRLA for this race, including a myriad of snacks for the runners, and an invaluable contribution of water from Niagara Bottling Co. SRLA had enough water to fill 40,000 cups at the 7 water stations along the course, as well as to give out thousands of individual bottles for the runners after they crossed the finish line.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., has supported Students Run LA for fifteen years, including this year’s annual sponsorship of our students, via both monetary and in-kind donations. We particularly appreciate Honda’s pledge to provide our students with the annual photograph of the entire group on the morning of the Marathon.
Beyond The Bell in the Los Angeles Unified School District provides SRLA with an in-kind donation of bus transportation to the monthly community races in which our students participate, as well as monetary support.
The LA Marathon, as it has since the beginning, generously provides our students and their volunteer Leaders with complimentary entries to the Honda LA Marathon. This generous contribution from the LA Marathon is one of the cornerstones of the annual success of our program.
Additional Support:
The W. M. Keck Foundation has provided SRLA with a two-year grant to support students at some of the poorest schools in Los Angeles, and The Rose Hills Foundation has provided SRLA with a two-year grant to support students in East LA and the San Gabriel Valley.
All of our contributors honor us by their recognition of the value of Students Run LA. Since our last newsletter, these organizations have made contributions:
And now, mark your calendars for the Honda LA Marathon on March 20th!
· Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation· American Honda Motor Co., Inc.· Associated Administrators of Los Angeles· Bank of America· Carol and James Collins Foundation· Costco· Henry L. Guenther Foundation· John W. Carson Foundation· Merrill Lynch· Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy
· Milken Family Foundation· Natixis Global Associates· NBC Universal· Rebecca and Richard Lewis· Simon-Strauss Foundation· SKETCH Foundation· Sony Pictures· Sterling Foundation· The Rose Hills Foundation· W. M. Keck Foundation
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CalendarMarch 20
April 1
May 25
Honda LA Marathon
Scholarship Forms Available
Leader Dinner
Wow! It’s marathon time already. Just a few short months ago, you leaders convinced a bunch
of students to try something impossible. Now, they are putting in the final mileage to be ready for the challenge of the marathon. We are proud of your efforts and those of your runners.
We are so impressed by the level of self-sacrifice leaders exhibited when we met to register for the Honda LA Marathon. You did such an amazing job of training your group, that collectively, your runners defied 20 years of statistics and exceeded our marathon entry cap. Giving up your marathon entry so that a student would be able to have the experience they have trained for is truly inspiring. It shows such character and that hasn’t been lost on our sponsors. Your actions speak to the strength of the program and its goals. Because of you, every student who trained properly and met all the requirements to enter the marathon will be able to do so.
More than any other year, we are honored that you chose to be part of this great adventure. We know how lucky your students are to have you, and we think your students know it too. In a society that most often tolerates self-centered action, you are extraordinary models of individuals working toward the greater good.
And when you are out there on the course, or gathering up your tired yet victorious runners, know that each and every one of them is there because of you. It’s why we all became educators. Thank you for the great things you are doing, and congratulations on getting this group to the starting line!
From TheCoordinatorsPaul & Eric
Send us articles and pictures for our newsletter!Email to [email protected], or mail to:SRLA, 5252 Crebs Ave., Tarzana, CA 91356
SRLA Student Focused WebsiteLeaders, tell your students that they can access our Students Run LA website specifically designed for them. www.srlastudents.com
SRLA & Social MediaSRLA Web site: http://www.srla.org
SRLA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
StudentsRunLA
SRLA on Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/SRLA
Join the SRLA Going Green Initiative by signing up to receive our newsletters via email. The advantage is that you can get all the news quickly, with just a click of the mouse, and then you can review the content, or retrieve it and save it for easy reference later. Don’t forget the reduced desk clutter and the trees you save! Email [email protected] to sign up today. Privacy is our priority.
Join the SRLA Going Green Initiative:Get our E-Newsletter
4
Thank You!
Patricia AlexanderAnthony AndersonAnette AntolinRose Marie AntonatosMichael AppellArgus ConsultingLarry ArreolaJoan AtlasCharla and Michael BarnathanEric BarronFran and Morrie BaskinTeresa Beaudet and Gerald GiamportoneLu Ana BercierDon BetheGary and Lorna BjorklundKristine and Justus BreeseJoyce BreslinJeff BronziniCarla BrownJames BrownKatherine BrownDiane BrunsonInes BryanBarbara BurnettMurray BurnsScott ClineRobert CoadBruce and Toni CorwinVeronica CotterMorton CrairNathan CrairTina CroweDavid DasseyDouglas and Gretchen DaviesDamon DavisChelsea DengEladio DiazKathleen DickersonGrace and Richard Dickman
Damien DossSusan EdwardsVincent EstradaAmy FanMichael FeibishMurray and Bunny FischerAdam FrattoGisela and Jeff FriedmanCynthia GageJose GallardoLaura and David GalpersonElvira GarayGeorge-Thomas EnterprisesHoward and Lucy GestGinny and Michael GibbsJonathan GibbsDebbie GlezerOscar HarrisonLarry and Anna HartKenneth HealingBonnie and Tom HerronGeorge HughRichard HughDavid and Tracy IsenbergPhil IversenQuinton and Marcia JamesLeslie JohnsonBrian and Nada JonesHerb KatzDavid KeltonRichard KentSharon KersonMichael KezselyRobert and Patricia KidwellAndrew KindfullerTodd KingDavid KleinHoward KolodnyDaniel and Deborah Koskovich
End-of-the-Year Contributors to Students Run LA
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Karen Kungie-TorresMargie and David LeeDebbie LeidnerGail LevineLisa LimmDavid and Julie ListerSusan LittleMary LongMark Loranger and Katie LichtigMichael LynnMagnolia DevelopmentFred and Rosny MandellMichael and Louise MandellLarry MargoBarry and Karen MasonJeffrey MasonDerek McCraeBetty and Estelle MednickMarsha and Steve MermelsteinCarol MilkiKenneth and Bobbie MillerR. Michael MillerBenjamin MillsMildred Mitchell Ernest MoralesGregory MoralesInge MorrisonMTH CorporationSheri MyersMark and Nancy NagayamaDenise-Marie NakamuraIrv NewmarkBernard NgDiana and Baird NielsenRobert NovellPatrick O’NeillMariano OrlandoGanesa and Lalitha PandianDavid and Eve PanushSteve PapkinNancy PaulikasEnrique PetrieOscar PinonJeff PolakDarren and Kim PollockTerance PowerGabriel RamirezJose Ramirez
Ed RappaportIra RavitzJeffrey ReisnerAmy RichlikKelley and Peter RiveraDavid RodicanRenee RoedererSandy and David RosenbaumRuth and Bernard RosenbergJennifer RoslundHoward and Meaghan RothRichard RozmanNorman and Irene SaigerRonald SchlaiferJeanne and David SchlesingerBob SchwartzMarcy Shaffer and Russell MeyerViolet Sharghi and Hung NguyenGil SolomonMelvin SpearsSue and Bob SpearsFred SpielbergJack Spielberg and Sarah SeaverPeachy and Buddy SpielbergDoug and Pat SpornScott SullivanKaren TallmanNashed TaniousHortense TarangoThomas ThompsonWilliam and Patricia TonerBehdod Ali VaghefiDaniel VictorRoberta VillalobosDaniel WagnerBlanche WatsonBernie and Elaine WeissChuck WertMark WhalenSarah WilliamsCarole and Weldon WilsonAllyne Winderman and Glenn WassermanLewis WintersCari WolkDorothy and Stanley WolpertMatthew WyattDavid Young
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Friendship Run(Continued from page 1)
Joseph Drabinski, and his crew for taking on the monumental task of coning off the course. This year 3,300 runners participated in the 18-mile course consisting of two 9-mile loops. Students and their leaders made up about 3000 of those running while the remaining 300-plus were community members, most of whom were also training for this year’s Honda LA Marathon on March 20.
The weather was sunny and warm and it was a great day to be out at the park. Each par ticipant received a finisher’s medal, event t-shir t, and plenty of water and snacks. On the course, runners were provided water donated by Niagara Bottling Company. At the finish area runners were greeted with more water, again thanks to Niagara Bottling Company, and a large amount of food. Costco Wholesale provided bagels, Rice Krispie Treats, Spor t Beans, and Hansen’s Juice. Trader Joe’s Encino contributed 15 cases of bananas.
Leader Anthony Nittle and his Horace Mann runners cross the dam in stride.
We were pleased to have new friend to SRLA, Nike, Inc, participate this year. Nike added extra fun to the event with their Mobile Unit, music on the course, pace groups, photo area, and Volt shoelaces. This provided a huge boost to the 18-mile Friendship Run. Thank you, Nike!
Don Francisco’s Gourmet Coffee par ticipated by serving coffee to the large number of friends, family, and volunteers that came out to suppor t the race. This event could not have been the success that it was without the assistance of the nearly 200 volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the day to ensure that things ran smoothly. A special thank you to the LAPD Cadet groups that traveled from all over the Valley to volunteer at the event.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the tremendous success of the 2011 Friendship Run!
Runners cross Hansen Dam mid-point in the 18-Mile Friendship Run.
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In another effor t by SRLA Cares to instill in our students an awareness of the communities around
them, and to be pro-actively involved in protecting the environment, an aluminum can collection drive was held at the January Half Marathon, and again at the SRLA 18-Mile Friendship Run in February. Not only did this please Mother Ear th, it also helped to brighten up the neighborhoods around our schools. Good effor t everyone, and keep the clean-up continuing!
SRLA Can-Do!
2000 old athletic shoes were donated to the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program at the recent SRLA 18-
Mile Friendship Run on February 6th. Thanks to the “Nike Grind” process, these worn-out shoes will be given new life as playground flooring and athletic tracks. SRLA thanks everyone who donated their old tread to become new tracks!
LA Marathon committee personnel brought Wesley Korir, the first back-to-back winner of
the Honda LA Marathon, and last year’s winner, to meet and inspire SRLA students training at Banning High School in Wilmington. The students were excited to meet him “up close and personal”, and are motivated to train even harder for their big event in March.
SRLA Students Meet Marathon Winner Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe
Program: Got Sole!
Paul Trapani and Abel Navar, along with their trusty volunteer, counted a mound of cans donated by students and leaders for SRLA Cares!
Reuse A Shoe: This picture is to go with the article in the box of the same name.
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Half Marathons
When training for a marathon, there is little time to sit around basking in the success
of a distance run before the next benchmark goal arrives. December found us looking east where we gathered for the L.A. County 1/2 Marathon in Pomona. Staging out of the L.A. County Fairgrounds, we ran this event for the first time. Thus, we didn’t have the shared wisdom on how to handle the course. It was going to be 13.1 miles on a course with hills, a loop around a lake, and even a speedway drag strip. Budgeting energy, while keeping a proper pace, was going to be a challenge for us all.
Our group, now able to claim the title of distance runners, took to this challenge with the same enthusiasm and expectation of success as in each previous run. With the first few miles relatively flat, runners found their pace and imagined themselves to be dragsters hauling down the racetrack before continuing out into the surrounding parkland where the tough miles began.
And those miles were tough! A beautiful sunny morning pushed the temperature high enough that our runners had to be careful to stay hydrated. The lake, it turns out, is set down into the park area, forcing us to climb and dip all the way around it. While a beautiful course, the constant incline and decline began to add a degree of difficulty beyond the simple 13.1-mile distance.
This did not deter our runners. They set their determination level to high, used the tricks and skills taught to them by their leaders, and continued on until reaching a well deserved finish line. It was most impressive to see the smiling and proud faces of our runners receiving their race shirts and wearing their
LA County Half Marathon LA County Half Marathon
LA County Half Marathon
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beautiful snowflake finisher’s medals. Next stop, our yearly migration to Irvine, to do the distance all over again.
Perhaps the most challenging part of the Southern California 1/2 Marathon in Irvine is that it comes right after the winter holiday break. It is so easy to take some time off promising to work in the mileage the next day, or the next. Suddenly, it’s early January and we’re back together in support of Woodbridge High School, the sponsor for this event. It’s one of the few events where SRLA is not the majority of participants. Our runners were simply part of the crowd and everyone did an excellent job of maintaining good running etiquette.
This run provides a special lesson: you get out what you put in. Those who allowed laziness and too much holiday food to dictate the weeks between our earlier half and this run discovered just how tough 13.1 miles is despite the relatively flat course. Undaunted, our runners again showed their spirit and intention to complete this run. So often we could hear the prized words of encouragement not only from the gathered
Southern California Half Marathons Southern California Half Marathons
Southern California Half Marathons
crowds along the course, but also from teammates as we looped back by each other in an almost disorienting star pattern.
This run became as much a challenge to our mental toughness as it was to our feet and legs. But SRLA runners are tough, and it showed as we streamed across the finish line with smiles and spirit, knowing we had conquered the distance. With 13.1 miles behind us, we could now set our sites for an even bigger challenge, the 18-mile Friendship Run.
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3M
Aetna Foundation
Ahmanson Foundation
Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
American Honda Associates
Associated Administrators of LA
AT&T
Bank of America
Beyond The Bell
California Endowment
California Statewide Certified Development Corporation
California Wellness Foundation
Carol and James Collins Foundation
City of Santa Monica
Clorox
Coldwell Banker
Columbia Management Company
Costco Wholesale
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
Eisner Foundation
Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Fund
Evercore Trust Company
Flora L. Thornton Foundation
Foundation for Global Sports Development
Henry L. Guenther Foundation
J.B. and Emily Van Nuys Charities
John C. Griswold Foundation
John W. Carson Foundation
Kaiser Permanente – Bellflower
Kaiser Permanente – Panorama City
Kaiser Permanente – Southern California
Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation
LA84 Foundation
LA Marathon
Larry Rawson
Los Angeles Police Department – Cadets Program
Los Angeles Unified School District
McCourt Group
Merrill Lynch
Metropolitan Theatres
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Milken Family Foundation
Natixis Global Associates
NBC Universal
Nestle USA
Neutrogena
Niagara Bottling, LLC
NIKE, Inc.
Northrop Grumman EChO
Paramount Pictures
RaceReady
RAGNAR Relay
Ralph L Smith Foundation
Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Rebecca & Richard Lewis
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Ruth & Allen Ziegler Foundation
Sascha Brastoff Foundation
Sidney Stern Memorial Trust
Simon-Strauss Foundation
SKETCH Foundation
Sony Pictures
Starbucks
Sterling Foundation
TGI Friday’s
The Gas Company
The Green Foundation
The Pritzker Family Foundation
The Rose Hills Foundation
Trader Joe’s
Union Bank Foundation
W. M. Keck Foundation
Weingart Foundation
Wells Fargo Foundation
Thank You to ALL of our FUNDERS!
FUNDERS 2011
NOTE: 93% of all donations go directly to the SRLA program; only 7% is used for management and fundraising.
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Board of Directors 2010-2011
Nathan CrairDirector Merrill LynchPresident of the Board
Frederic Mandell, D.D.S.Studio City Dental Group
Secretary of the Board
Peter AbrahamCreative Director
Los Angeles Marathon
Marsha CharneyCo-Founder
Students Run LA
Alvaro CortésAssistant Superintendent Beyond The Bell
Los Angeles Unified School District
Beth GordieLatham & Watkins
Steven MillerSensus Consulting Inc.
Stephan MorikawaAssistant Vice President, Corporate Community
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Veronica Perez Par tner for Public Policy & Regulation
