More Chances to See Runners High, the Documentary Film About SRO

The following announcement comes from the film crew that spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons producing a critically acclaimed documentary about Students Run Oakland. Please spread the word about the DVD and about the upcoming screenings!

We are very excited to announce that the Runners High DVD is now available for purchase online at our website :http://www.runnershighfilm.com/pages/Store.html. We are also excited to announce two upcoming screenings of Runners High:

Saturday, February 17th at 1:30pm
Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas.
Runners High is part of the official Austin Marathon events. For more information visit:http://www.attaustinmarathon.com/newsdetails.asp?newsID=108

Thursday, March 29th at 7:00pm
Ellen Driscoll Theater (at Havens School) in Piedmont, California.
Co-sponsored by the Piedmont Diversity Committee and The Piedmont League of Women Voters. For more information visit:http://www.diversityfilmseries.org/

Over the course of 2007, Runners High will screen at other race weekend events across the country. We will post updates and schedules on our screenings page as soon as we finalize them at:http://www.runnershighfilm.com/pages/Screenings-00.html

For more information about our screenings or to request a screening in yourarea, please contact:Rozanne Cazian, Marketing and Distribution Director
rozanne@runnershighfilm.com
(415) 412-1008

Tapering Tips and Final Marathon Prep

Congratulations to all of you students and volunteers who made it this far in the season and completed the last long, hard, rainy run. You’re in the final stretch of marathon training now, otherwise known as “the taper.” In the final three weeks before the marathon, your 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 your training mileage, but also getting plenty of rest and eating smart.

Follow these “Dos & Don’ts”:

DO:
- Follow the SRO schedule and keep attending all workouts.
- Get enough sleep. This is a time to catch up on sleep and go to Los Angeles well rested.
- Eat smart and eat healthy. Follow the nutrition guidelines in your SRO handbook. Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues; eat slowly and moderately when hungry, and stop when full. Maintain a balanced, healthy diet, and then emphasize carbohydrates in the final three days before the marathon.
- Focus on mental preparation. Visualize the race and mentally rehearse how you’ll push through the fatigue to reach the finish line. Practice visualizing a training run that you particularly enjoyed so you can think about this run when fatigued during the marathon. Think positive and have confidence in yourself.
- Stay off your feet, especially in the final week.
- Read the SRO Student Handbook section on “LA Marathon Countdown - 7 Days to Go” and “Preparation Checklist,” and follow all these guidelines. Get ready and get psyched!
- Ask yourself why you joined the program and why you really want to succeed by finishing the marathon. Perhaps the main reason why you joined (for example, to go to LA or to get free running shoes) is different than the main reason you want to run the marathon now (for example, you want to prove to yourself you really can reach your goal because you have trained so hard).
- Consider dedicating a mile of the marathon course to a person, a cause, or a reason -- and be sure to dedicate at least one mile to yourself.

DON’T
- Don’t run longer or harder than the schedule calls for during this time in an effort to “make up” lost training time. You will do more harm than good by not giving yourself enough time to recover before the marathon.
- Don’t do anything new. For example, don’t try a new activity that could leave your muscles sore, don’t break in new shoes that could cause blisters, and don’t eat anything unusual that could upset your stomach.
- Don’t overeat. Eating too much will make you feel sluggish and heavy before the marathon. That said, don’t cut back too much on your calories. Your body needs healthy food and water to repair stressed muscles and to store energy for marathon day.
- Don’t stress out if you gain a pound or two. Because your muscles should be fully stocked with glycogen (stored energy) and well hydrated in the week before the marathon, it’s normal to gain a couple of pounds in the final week.
- Don’t get sick. Try to avoid catching a virus; wash your hands a lot, get plenty of sleep, eat foods high in Vitamin C, and steer clear of people who have colds.
- Don’t forget to thank the SRO volunteers, and your family members and friends, who have supported your training efforts during the past several months!

Scholarships Available

Students Run Oakland wishes to thank the representatives from the East Bay College Fund who spoke to SRO’s students recently. The East Bay College Fund awards scholarships of $16,000 to resilient and deserving public high school seniors who come from backgrounds that are under-represented in higher education. For more information and to download an application, visit the website at http://www.eastbaycollegefund.org/. The 2007 application deadline is soon, so SRO seniors should contact the group as soon as possible to apply. Students also should talk to Spencer for information on this and other scholarship opportunities. In 2005, SRO participant Marvyn Arevalo Avalos (who was profiled in the documentary film about SRO, Runners High) was a recipient of an East Bay College Fund grant.

Message to Volunteers from Spencer

The following message was sent to volunteers on Friday, February 9. If you are interested in volunteering for SRO, please check out the website's Volunteer page for more info, and contact the volunteer coordinator.

To SRO Volunteers,

As we count down the weeks to the marathon, I want to thank you for all your hard work, commitment, and care with the students. Your efforts are invaluable to the program and the transformation of the students. I'm sure you're starting to see the sense of "I can do this" in them. This next weekend is especially critical as we'll be doing our longest run to date and your encouragement is vital.

As we are winding down the season, we are keeping one eye on next season and how we can improve. What we know at SRO is that you, our volunteers, are so important to the success of the program. Not only with your support of the students in the weekend runs, but any extra that you might be able to offer in the way of organization support.

That is what I would like to request of you today. In order to improve our organization, we depend on the generosity of our volunteers as they offer their skills and talents in their areas of expertise as well as running. We are currently short staffed in some critical positions and are looking for volunteers who would be interested in offering additional time to support these areas for the coming season.

The specific areas we are looking for support in are: Fundraising - Project Manager; Grant Writing; Database Entry; Student Liason.

If you are interested in supporting SRO in one of these areas, or in others, or know someone who might be, I would love to have a further conversation with you to discuss your interest, skills, and how they might match SRO's needs. Please drop me an email so that we can schedule a time to talk, and I will also be available at the SRO appreciation event this Saturday and look forward to seeing you all there.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Spencer Hooper
Executive Director
Students Run Oakland
510.868.0519/of
510.315.2465/fx
spencerhooper@comcast.net