Eastbluff’s marathon

Students at Newport Beach’s Eastbluff Elementary School have been training for Sunday’s OC Marathon: Many will run a 1.2-mile stretch, others five kilometers.If Greek history had turned out a little differently, students at Eastbluff Elementary School might have had a different exercise regimen over the last two months.

In 490 B.C., according to the often-told legend, a messenger ran from the city of Marathon to Athens to report a Greek victory against the Persian navy. Upon relaying news of the victory, the young man dropped dead from exhaustion. The famous footrace was named after his city of origin, and the length was matched to the distance he ran: 26.2 miles.

“I can understand,” said Diane Daruty, a parent at Eastbluff, about the ill-fated Greek. “He didn’t train.”

Three days a week, Daruty and other Eastbluff parents are helping students do just that. Since early November, 119 students have met after school to train in the school’s running program, doing sprints, stretches and mile laps to improve their endurance. On Sunday, 63 of them will run in the Orange County marathon -- the first Eastbluff students ever to do so.

“I can’t believe these kids are into it so much,” said Chip Fesko, another parent trainer. “I’m getting beat by some of the third-graders.”

Two months ago, Eastbluff began signing up students for the running program, a year-long exercise course designed to improve fitness and fight child obesity. The program is held simultaneously with Walk to Washington, a daily exercise project in which students walk around the commons at the end of the school day.

The students in the running program plan to participate not only in the Orange County marathon, but also in the Spirit Run, a Newport Beach fundraising event, in March. At the end of the year, Eastbluff will hold its own competition on the school playground.

Kim Doetzel, the physical education teacher at Eastbluff, trained the kindergarteners and first- through third-graders; parent Rebecca Chadwick handled the upper grades. The students began in November with relay races and short runs, and in two months were covering up to two miles a day.

“I feel a lot faster than I was,” said Blake Fesko, 9, Chip’s son and a third-grader at Eastbluff. “It’s easier to run races now. You’ve got to build your speed up and keep pace.”

Blake and a number of his classmates will be running 1.2 miles in the marathon -- in addition to the 25 that they have already run on the playground. A smaller group of students, mostly in the upper grades, will participate in a five-kilometer race Sunday.

Only a handful of the Eastbluff students have run races before, but many joined the running program for a challenge -- or passion for the sport.

“I just like running,” said Caden Gruber, 8, a third-grader. “I usually run around my neighborhood.”20060106isnf5nncPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOTPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOTPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOTPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Above, Eastbluff Elementary School students jog on the track at Corona del Mar High School on Thursday. They’re training to run a part of the Orange County marathon Sunday. Below, Ciara Sharkey, 5, left, and Brooke Ianni, 6, stretch during their training.Above, Eastbluff Elementary School students jog on the track at Corona del Mar High School on Thursday. They’re training to run a part of the Orange County marathon Sunday. Below, Ciara Sharkey, 5, left, and Brooke Ianni, 6, stretch during their training.Above, Eastbluff Elementary School students jog on the track at Corona del Mar High School on Thursday. They’re training to run a part of the Orange County marathon Sunday. Below, Ciara Sharkey, 5, left, and Brooke Ianni, 6, stretch during their training.Above, Eastbluff Elementary School students jog on the track at Corona del Mar High School on Thursday. They’re training to run a part of the Orange County marathon Sunday. Below, Ciara Sharkey, 5, left, and Brooke Ianni, 6, stretch during their training.20060106isnf8fncNo Caption