Senior Stories: Kimberly Olmedo - Finding Balance in Running
Kimberly Olmedo has been running with Students Run LA (SRLA) for the past 6 years and is a recent graduate of Verdugo Hills High School. Kimberly was awarded the SRLA Scholarship this year and will take her scholarship to Los Angeles Mission College, where she plans on majoring in Communications. One day, Kimberly dreams of becoming a Sports Commentator/Broadcaster. Kimberly shares her SRLA journey in her own words below.
Kimberly addressing her peers during the high school graduation ceremony.
Balance, something that isn't as easy as others think. Balancing school, sports, clubs, and other activities is challenging. My sophomore year, I truly struggled with balancing everything from sports to school—doing assignments, homework, passing exams, practice, and so much more. My obstacle was finding a way to do everything while still doing the things I loved, like sports and running. Something I learned years prior in SRLA was finding the right pace to run. Many factors play into how well you can run, such as breathing, leg stride, hydration, and many other factors. However, you could have an incredible leg stride yet not have a great breathing technique, which could potentially slow you down. You have to find the right balance that fits you and matches your pace. I applied this balance to my everyday life. SRLA taught me how to find my balance in life. In this obstacle, it taught me how to control and organize my sports and school life so I didn't struggle. I found that my balance would need to fit my schedule, so I needed to find the right times to do homework throughout the day and, after practice, follow up with myself to figure out what I needed to do. Balance is key in life, whether it be running the marathon and finding a pace that fits you, or balancing challenging things such as school and sports.
Kimberly celebrating her medals she gained during SRLA while in her Class of 2024 High School Graduation outfit.
Kimberly running during the SRLA 30K Friendship Race!
Thus, my participation in Students Run Los Angeles (SRLA) has helped me become a leader, ambitious, fierce, and truly dedicated to what I do in my life. At the start of SRLA, during my first year, I looked at how fun this journey would be for me. Years later, I can say it was. From waking up early every Saturday morning at 6 a.m. to run, to having to wake up at 2 a.m. to be super early at Dodger Stadium for the LA Marathon, the experiences I had throughout these incredible six years have helped me become more mature, independent, and ambitious in the goals I would like to accomplish, whether it was at school, on the field, or even on the streets (SRLA races).
Seeing the SRLA leaders be impressed, proud, and determined to support their runners or other runners they found along the journey was incredible. It made students such as myself feel so welcomed into a giant running family that could help me anytime during these 26.2 miles of the marathon. Like in the marathon, they taught me to never give up, even when I may be second-guessing myself, feeling a lack of motivation, or even facing a mental block that is mentally challenging me on what to do in certain situations.
Today, I have learned several things from SRLA leaders that have helped me in my high school journey and will definitely help me in my college journey as well.