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In training
Several Saint Francis School
teachers prepare for next month’s
Honolulu Marathon
Teachers wearing far less than the school uniform jog past their students at Saint Francis School and off into the mist of Manoa valley, turning a few heads as they go.
This small, secluded Catholic girls school is sending a big contingent to next month's Honolulu Marathon. Six of its 30 teachers will be running, along with a parent, a student and a nun from the school's governing order in Syracuse, N.Y., who is now gearing up for her 28th marathon.
"It's good for them to see that we are something other than teachers in the classroom," said Vice Principal Sergio Robles, who also teaches Spanish at Saint Francis. A veteran of 13 marathons, the wiry 55-year-old cajoled several colleagues into the arduous race.
"Students sometimes look at us funny when we're stretching in the parking lot," added Julie Taufaasau, who teaches history and psychology and has run two marathons. "It shatters stereotypes."
The school, founded 80 years ago by the Sisters of the Third Franciscan Order, Syracuse, serves 373 girls in grades six through 12. Its motto is Catholic education in "A Spirit of Joy," but computer teacher Sean Connors said the idea of running a marathon did not thrill him at first.
"Actually, I hate to run," he confessed. "I played soccer when I was young. They put me in as goalie."
But Robles prevailed on him, and Connors found that running with friends has made it easier. His motivation was to lose weight. Training for the marathon and swearing off desserts has helped him drop 40 pounds, to weigh in at a comfortable 190 pounds.
"It's a great feeling to put my foot down and know I can go 10 miles," Connors said with a grin. Come Dec. 12, it will be 26 miles in his first marathon.
Connors and the rest of the group say that preparing for a marathon teaches lessons about setting goals and persevering, and the importance of good health, which can carry over for others in the school community.
"I think it says a lot about us being active," said math teacher Michelle Alves. "In a sense, we're good role models."
One of her former students, Aki deLeon, not only followed Alves into the teaching profession, but into running shoes. DeLeon, who graduated from Saint Francis in 1995, is now a counselor and teacher at the school. She said she started running because of "peer pressure" and as a way to get over a rough patch in her life.
"They kept making it sound like it was fun," deLeon said. "Running a marathon was on my list of things to do before I die. I went from not being able to run two miles to running 12."
As a counselor, she can draw on personal experience when she helps students cope with hurdles in their lives.
"Running made me feel a lot better about myself," she said. "It made me feel, if I can do this, I can do anything. You want to get over an ex-boyfriend? Go run a marathon."
"I hear a lot of problems from my students," she added. "I get everything from 'I hate my parents' to 'My boyfriend broke up with me.' I tell them if you want to move past this, you need to do something. It doesn't have to be running, but just do something."
Her colleague Carolyn Tokuda Keffer, who just started teaching this year, said training for the marathon has put her job in perspective.
"As a first-year teacher, if I didn't do this, I would just work all the time," she said.
Kent Palm, whose daughter is in seventh grade at Saint Francis, hooked up with the teachers through a Honolulu Marathon clinic. He said he likes their "team spirit."
Also training for the marathon is sophomore Ana-Gabriella Mireles, who joined the school's cross-country team last year and set her sights on the big race in January. She trains separately, with one of her coaches. And Sister Nicolette Vennaro, 64, will be flying in from Syracuse in December.
Famous athletes inspire observers, but having friends set examples at close range can be more compelling, Connors said.
"Watching Sergio run and Michelle has been inspiring for me," he said. "These are people I know I can touch in my daily life. If they can do it, I feel like I can, too."
