Senior Stories: Juan, A New Passion

Juan is 6 time SRLA marathon finisher from Bell High School. This June he was awarded the Students Run LA scholarship which he plans to use when he attends Cal Poly Pomona in the fall.

Before I had joined Students Run LA I lived as an overweight child for most of my life which eventually became a problem for me mentally and emotionally. During fifth grade and sixth grade, I was bullied for being overweight by getting name called, looked at as ugly or gross and was even excluded from many “friend” groups because of my physical appearance.

Juan and his SRLA teammates at Bell High School celebrating with their Los Angeles Marathon medals and finisher jackets.

For the longest, I had tried losing weight one way or another but I could not find a solution to what I have now seen as a problem. I even started to take extreme measures and stopped eating or ate very little for several weeks. Nothing seemed to work and I was just being damaged physically, mentally and emotionally. I spent many nights crying and even body shaming myself to the point where I hated looking at my own body, which was never a problem until the bullying came along.

Thankfully during my seventh-grade year, SRLA was an option for me at Chester W. Nimitz Middle School and regardless of my physical appearance I was given the privilege to join the program. This was an amazing opportunity for me because, not only was I given the chance to run so many races including the LA Marathon for free, but I was also granted the opportunity to improve myself physically, emotionally, and mentally; overall forming me into a much healthier person.

Juan, crossing the finish line at the 2018 LA Marathon.

Overall, being part of SRLA was an enormous challenge for me personally due to my overweight physique, having a busier academic schedule and the fact that I had never ran so many miles in my life before. Nevertheless, I committed to being a great runner for SRLA and by the time my first SRLA season had ended I was no longer overweight nor self- conscious of my physical appearance. Not only that but I had completed my first LA Marathon in six hours and seven minutes something I believed would take me an entire day to complete, 26.2 miles is no joke. Additionally, I had discovered something new within me: a hidden talent, desire or perhaps just something I was passionate about?

“SRLA gave me the experience of my life, it allowed me to be healthier every day and up to this day this amazing program has not stopped from erupting challenges and new desires in my overall life. ”

I was not aware of what this new feeling was but with the passing of time SRLA helped me discover what this truly was; this new feeling that gave me an adrenaline rush every time I ran was a combination of a hidden talent and passion that I never felt within me until I started running for SRLA. Soon enough I began to love running and I wanted to be faster. I had become more competitive while running, I wanted to be the fastest and I wanted to be the best runner I could possibly be. During my second year of SRLA, this same feeling of adrenaline at the starting line allowed me to drop my Marathon time by nearly two hours!!! I went from 6:07 to 4:13! This was already great enough for me but this hidden talent had more for me and it became most evident when I ran in my physical education class. Before SRLA I would run my fastest mile in 11 minutes but by the end of middle school, my fastest mile was 5:26!

I was astonished by such an achievement and progression in my running that I decided to be in cross country, track and SRLA during high school. SRLA awoke my inner runner and allowed me to go through a challenge within myself full of running, tears, blood, happiness and much more. SRLA gave me the experience of my life, it allowed me to be healthier every day and up to this day this amazing program has not stopped from erupting challenges and new desires in my overall life.

Juan and friends celebrating graduation.

I am now about to enter college and thanks to SRLA I will have an opportunity to become a possible Division 2 University athlete for cross country and track at Cal Poly Pomona. As a six-year participant, I greatly thank SRLA for being a large part of who I am today; I am a healthier person now, a great student and a great athlete. I was scared at first but whenever I am asked where my motivation comes from for running I will answer with pride and say, “An eternal motivation came to me when I decided to be in it for the long run.”

You can help students like Juan and his teammates find their passion by getting involved with Students Run LA (Donate, Volunteer, Run with Us).