Join Us on July 21 for Fleet Feet’s Annual Sunset Fun Run

One of our most loyal and consistent sponsors, Fleet Feet Sports in San Francisco, hosts its sixth annual Sunset Run to benefit Students Run Oakland on Thursday, July 21.

This is a fun, community-oriented run for Fleet Feet’s customers and SRO supporters. Proceeds from race registrations go 100% to help our kids. Fleet Feet has hosted this event on our behalf since 2006.

It’s a level, five-mile course along the San Francisco Bay, perfect for runners of all fitness levels. This is a super casual event – there is no timing, we don’t block roads, or use bib numbers. The run starts at 6:30 in the evening, so you get a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands as the sun settles into the Pacific. Each runner will get a technical t-shirt and there’s also a DJ, drinks, bagels, and lots of great raffle prizes. Pre-register for the Sunset Run for just $10! (Race day registration is $20.) For more details and to register, please visit the Fleet Feet website.

I’d like to give my personal thanks to Brett and Kim, the owners of Fleet Feet Sports, for their commitment to Students Run Oakland and for the many ways they help us help our kids.

I hope to see you there. Last year we had more than 300 folks participate, and we hope to top that number this year. Please mark your calendar and join us in the fun on Thursday, July 21.

In community,

Spencer

The First Step in Helping Our Kids: Volunteer Orientation

I am pleased to announce that we have engaged Denise Jeffrey as our new Volunteer Coordinator. She brings to SRO her vast experience working with Oakland youth as a principal and teacher in the OUSD for over 30 years. She’s also a veteran marathoner!

One of the keys to realizing our three-year strategic plan is increasing the effectiveness and retention of a core group of diverse and committed volunteers. Getting our programs up and running this coming fall means getting our devoted volunteer “brigade” in place in the coming few weeks, and that’s Denise’s first challenge!

We have lots of opportunities available – from academic tutors to yoga instructors – long-distance running is not required in many positions! What is required is a passion for transforming the lives of the youth we serve. (Our online Volunteer Flyer details more of the opportunities available.)

We’re looking for role models who can establish rapport with high school students of diverse backgrounds while helping them develop focus and confidence. Through our proven and structured programs of physical fitness, academic support, nutritional advice, and mentoring, our volunteers discover the immense rewards and satisfaction of seeing underacheiving kids set a new course toward fulfilling their potentials and ambitions.

Please join us in continuing our decade-long success at Students Run Oakland. We’re aiming for the 2012 Los Angeles Marathon this coming March, and we need you to help us get there.

Your first step is attending SRO’s volunteer orientation meeting on Saturday, June 4 at the Alameda County Public Health Department, 1000 Broadway, Suite 500. Our presentation runs about 90 minutes, starting at 10 a.m. You’ll meet other committed volunteers, learn more about the work we do, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Also, be sure to fill out the SRO Volunteer Application before coming to the meeting so we have your basic information on file (it’s posted on the Volunteer page at www.sroakland.org). Please RSVP or forward any questions to srovolunteer@comcast.net.

Thank you for helping us in “Training for Life, One Step at a Time.”

In community,

Spencer Hooper, Executive Director

2010-11 Season Update

As many of you may know from our newsletter or other blogs, in parallel with finishing another successful marathon last season, we also completed our three year strategic plan.

We have decided to not conduct a marathon training season with students for the 2010-11 season but instead allocate our recourses toward implementing year one of the strategic plan to ensure a successful execution.

Our primary focus will be to strengthen our programs to enable us to make new strides in the area of staff recruitment, volunteer development, student services, and enhancements to our fund raising capabilities.

Our efforts this season will be on setting the foundation for three strategic pillars:

Students – Significantly Improve Our Impact on Students’ Lives

To be a compelling after school program for students that provides them a safe environment and the tools to improve their health and wellness, academic performance, and build their self-esteem by demonstrating to them their capabilities through physical activities and targeted academics.

Volunteers – Improve Volunteer Effectiveness

To recruit and retain a core group of diverse volunteers who share a common understanding of, and commitment to, the goals and objectives of SRO.

Sustainability – Become a Strong and Vibrant Organization for the Long Term

To become a strong and vibrant organization that can withstand changes in leadership, economic, political, and other environmental factors. This third pillar has become increasingly important as we are in such volatile economic times. SRO, like most businesses and especially those in the non profit sector has been impacted by the economic downturn over the last couple of years.

We will miss the opportunity to work with and be inspired by the young people we get the privilege to serve. However, I am enthusiastic about what we will accomplish next year as we have a very detailed and comprehensive plan and a passionate team committed to the work. With a concentrated focus on capacity and infrastructure building and not diluting this effort by concurrently managing a full program we will be able to make tremendous strides to broaden and strengthen our programs and build a solid development capability.

I have come to know and sincerely appreciate the commitment, genuine investment our extended SRO family -- community collaborators, supporters and donors have in SRO’s success. I will also be outreaching over the upcoming months and weeks to ask for your continued support.

We will continue to keep you apprised of the work that is underway to take SRO to the next level solidly positioning us for an exciting and vibrant future. If you are interested in reading SRO’s three-year Strategic Plan, it will be posted here shortly.

I am confident that we will come out of the upcoming year stronger than ever and poised to deliver to more young people -- Training for Life One Step at a Time.

In Community,

Spencer

Executive Director

Completion of the 25th Los Angeles Marathon

Students, Staff, and Volunteers, Congratulations on another great marathon!

Our trip to Los Angeles was a big success. This season we had one of our largest groups of students and volunteers make the trip.

The carbo load dinner on Saturday evening was spent on a rooftop patio sharing prior marathon stories, laughing with one another and final prepping for the big day ahead.

Sunday – the day began early - 4:30 to be exact. We had breakfast, followed by several group photos and then walked to the shuttle for a 5:30 ride to Dodgers Stadium, start for the new marathon course. The start as always was super charged and exciting with this year being even bigger due to the marathon’s 25^th anniversary and a scenic new course.

The first mile of the run was uphill, which was the real wake up. We left Dodgers Stadium, ran through downtown and several distinct and diverse communities such as Thai and Japan towns, to Hollywood, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Fortunately the weather was much cooler than forecasted as our students made their way to the finish to get their medals in Santa Monica.

With 96% of our students completing the marathon, everyone was feeling good for our tour of Olvera Street, Hollywood, and Venice Beach the next day.

Students Run Oakland Friends, Family, and Community, Thank you so much for your support throughout the season. Once again, we couldn't have done it without you!

STUDENTS RUN OAKLAND NEWSLETTER

L.A. MARATHON CLOSE AT HAND Message from the Executive Director Over the last several weeks, I have had some very robust conversations about what compassion looks like. Recently our strategic planning team was discussing values statements intended to capture the essence of what SRO means and how we want to evolve SRO's mission. We talked about high standards and expectations, encouraging young people to excel through commitment, hard work and personal accountability. A spirited debate ensued as some members of the team felt that these statements seemed hard and didn't embody the value of being compassionate which they felt should be core to SRO. More recently we had to communicate to a few of our students that they would not be traveling to Los Angeles for the marathon, as they did not fulfill their commitment. This is challenging every year as volunteers, staff and I grow attached to students and while we encourage them to remain in the program, it is a disappointment when a student doesn't qualify for the Los Angeles trip. Again this year, there was a feeling by some that we could be more compassionate with a few suggesting that we empathize more with the students and consider altering the requirements or making exceptions for that particular young person that they were lobbying for. While compassion means to feel with and to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, I've realized that what is truly complicated is the next step - determining how to act on it. My compass for how best to help the young folks we serve is to empathize with them and the challenging life circumstances that many of them face at such impressionable ages. But to still hold them accountable since this is what life will demand if they are to become self-sustaining, contributing members of society. We can best prepare them with knowledge, support and tools to achieve their goals. One way this is accomplished is that each student in SRO has to fulfill a community service requirement as part of his or her contract. We do this to instill the value of giving back and being involved in one's community. We want them to be compassionate and to value their ability to make a difference by helping others. In this edition, I invite you to read about our young people giving their time and service recently to the San Francisco Food Bank and chaperoning children with disabilities at their dance. As an organization, I believe that we will always grapple with this complicated motivation to sympathize or empathize, the desire and passion to help. The challenge is but how best and what form that help should take. Sometimes it will simply be about lending a hand to someone in need. But more often than not, it will be about addressing inequities and giving our young people the tools for them to change their destiny. "Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward." - Henry Ford Spencer Hooper WITHOUT LIMITS There is winning and there is losing in sport, but the truly resolute know that running one's first marathon is a beast unto itself; an immeasurable success. On the eve of the impending event we can look back over the last few months and recognize the values that the students, volunteers, and SRO have all brought to support each other and reach goals many once thought might have been unattainable. To say it has been challenging would be an understatement. Few things worth boasting about, however, come without considerable effort, sacrifice, and in this case, pain. "I thought shopping was exercise until SRO," senior Estella Taylor deadpanned as she completed her last 10-mile run before the potluck celebration. Sure it was a funny statement that had many volunteers chuckling along, but for students who never imagined submitting to the physical and mental rigors of marathon training, completing such a journey is no laughing matter. Applause is a more apt gesture to accompany a statement such as Estella's. Overall, the complicated emotions of being excited at how next weekend will unfold and the terror of what those 26.2 miles will do to the body have been competing for dominance as the students taper down. For some, taking the run one step at a time is an exercise in training the mind to see beyond self-imposed limitations. Achievement begins on an individual level by making the commitment to see the season through to the best of their ability. The transformative effects on all involved in this season's efforts continue to pay off week after week. SRO does not make every student love running. On the contrary, students like senior Jordan Hadden mention how running is not even on her list of favored activities even though she's looking forward to being able to run through the streets of Los Angeles and "not having to loop," in reference to the circular training routes students run on the weekends. When asked why she stuck with the program in defiance of her asthma and frequent physical discomfort she remarks, "I already started, I can't just quit." Such firmness of purpose will serve Jordan well as she embarks on her collegiate career. She has already been accepted into CSU and Shaw University but is still eagerly anticipating an acceptance to Howard University in Washington D.C. Students have been challenged to push beyond limitations, give back to their communities, and improve their grades,. It has been a rocky year for many. Those of us who remember adolescence can relate to the myriad changes and challenges that teenage years bring. But with the additional support of volunteers, friends, and family, SRO participants have shown strength of character, consistency of purpose, and the requisite discipline necessary for success in life. We have no doubt each one will head into the summer aiming their ambition a little bit higher. GRACIOUS NEIGHBORS On February 6, students and SRO volunteers gathered at the San Francisco Food Bank. Tasked with packaging over 3,300 pounds of rice to be distributed to families throughout the city, students showed their enthusiasm, work ethic, and empathy to help a struggling community. Jackie Villalobos smiled, "It was fun. I would have liked to give the food directly to the families but it was still fun. Cold, but fun." Volunteers Steve Roberts and Katie Wojnoonski both remarked what a treat it was to work side by side with students as they formed an assembly line to position the 50-pound bags, weigh out each pound, seal, sticker, and box up food to go out for families. Students' thoroughness and concentration during the day's activities were immediately impressive. "It was great seeing them pitch in to make a difference. I could see they really got it." said volunteer Steve Roberts. Since a 1-pound bag of rice feeds a family of 3 for a single meal, admiration for students who eschewed a Saturday off to give their time and energy for those less fortunate is well deserved. An additional cadre of students spent February 19 chaperoning children with disabilities and special health care needs at their annual Valentine's Day Dance in Berkeley. During both events, students made SRO staff and volunteers proud as they exemplified the qualities of true champions. As we head to LA this weekend, we'd like to thank you all for your continued support. Sincerely, Alison Cross, SRO newsletter editor In This Issue WITHOUT LIMITS GRACIOUS NEIGHBORS FOR RACE DAY: * stretch * stay hydrated * adjust pace * keep eating * listen to your body Quick Links More About Us Become More Involved

WE ARE LA MARATHON BOUND

We're entering the final week of preparation for our big day!

Physically, we're spending the remaining time tapering.

Mentally, we're getting ready for race day. Students and Volunteers, here are some tips for your preparation:

• Familiarize yourself with the course map. Think about what supplies you will bring and how you will carry them. There will be water each mile and POWERade Sports Drink Stations are located at every odd number mile beginning at mile 3 but you should plan on carrying your favorite snacks. Volunteers, SRO will provide additional food and first aid supplies for you to carry as well.

• Make a plan for different kinds of weather. It is likely to be warmer than the conditions we are accustomed to, so pack a hat and sunscreen and think about how much more you may want to drink. Re-read our Heat-Related Training tips.

• Relax and enjoy yourself! Be sure to get plenty of rest in the days leading up to the race. We'll see you the day before the race -- Sunday, March 20 -- 7 AM at the Oakland Airport.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS RUN - DONE!!!!

Congratulations to all of our students and volunteers who made it this far and completed this season's last long run, a wet and challenging 20-miler. We are in the final stretch of marathon training now, otherwise known as “the taper.” In the final three weeks before the marathon, the body needs to recover from the stress of hard training in order to be in peak condition on race day. “Tapering” means not only reducing our training mileage, but also getting plenty of rest and eating smart. We will have more tapering tips to share in coming days.

20 MILE MENTAL TOUGHNESS RUN

Students and Volunteers, This is the weekend! Our last long run, 20 miles, will be this weekend in Golden Gate Park. There is currently a chance of rain, so bring your SRO jacket and/or hat to prepare for running in chilly weather. All students must complete the run in 5 hours or less. Volunteers should plan to run with the student(s) with whom you have been paired with. As always, in addition to running volunteers, we will have several volunteers on bikes as well as water stops every few miles. We're here to support you every step of the way.

Students, as you know, at the beginning of the season you signed a Student Contract in which you made several commitments to SRO as a community. These commitments included not only attending practices and Saturday training runs, but also goals for school attendance and grade point average. If you have not been consistently meeting these commitments, Student Liaison Aimee should be in touch with you to help you form a plan for improving and meeting your Student Contract.

Remember, as Coach Al like to say “IT’S MIND OVER MATTER, IF YOU DON’T MIND IT DOESN’T MATTER”

Good luck and enjoy your run!!

KAISER HALF MARATHON A SUCCESS

Over 50 of our students successfully completed the Kaiser Half Marathon in San Francisco on Sunday. Based on our training schedule, everyone who ran this past weekend is on target to have a successful marathon in March. We still have a minor detail to accomplish - a 20 mile mental toughness run in three weeks. Volunteers you are doing a great job, keep having those conversations and encouraging the students.

RUNNERS HIGH THANK YOU

The seats were full and thanks to volunteer Charles Mince the freshly popped popcorn was plentiful and a big hit!

It is too soon to tell if we made our fundraising target from last week’s screening of “Runners High”, but I wanted to send a note to SRO Staff, Volunteers and Supporters for making our first fundraising event this year a big success!

Your collective efforts to sell tickets and promote the event created great buzz and word of mouth. We had a packed auditorium; supporters came out even in the midst of the storms.

While there are too many individuals to acknowledge, I would like to specifically thank the fundraising committee:

 Charles Mance for the event logistics
 Howard Nathal for his efforts in securing raffle items
 Katharine Sullivan for acquiring the venue
 Jerry Wolfe, who I think actually moonlighted as a principal for OUSD, but must have really been a salesperson for his tremendous energy in ticket sales.

Special acknowledgement and thanks also goes to Samuel Merritt University for the use of their auditorium and equipment.

With our record number of students this late into the season and the downturn in the economy, we have a considerable monetary gap to solve this year. Last week’s screening was an important endeavor to help us get across the finish line again this year.



Spencer

Runner’s High is available for purchase at: http://runnershighfilm.com