One step, mile at a time

You could call them mini-marathon runners.

Yes, they’re going to run the full 26.2 miles like everybody else, only they’re going to run it a little bit at a time, these children from Killybrooke Elementary School in Costa Mesa.

“They come out here twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday, and they run a mile during each session, which lasts about an hour,” said Principal Kathy Sanchez. “By the time May rolls around, they’ve virtually completed an entire marathon. They just do it one step at a time. One mile at a time.”

Then, on May 1, the 75 or so students will run that final mile at the Costa Mesa Fairgrounds to kick off the real OC Marathon, which begins May 2 and is reserved for the older, much larger crowd of runners.

The point is simple: Get the children running at an early age and teach them that fitness and exercise is important if they want to live a healthy life.

The OC Marathon is held in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education.

It’s a pretty common theme at a time when obesity has become somewhat of a national epidemic — so much so that Michelle Obama is publicly extolling the virtues of fitness.

“This is a great program that teaches the children about commitment,” said Allison Reese, mother of Hannah, 7, one of the students racking up the miles.

Hannah has about three miles under her belt.

The same can be said for Fernando Mendoza, 6.

“It will teach him to grow as a person,” said Zoila Mendoza, Fernando’s mother, as she looked on during a recent marathon training session. “Plus, it’s good that the children learn about what it means to participate in sports.”

And so from now until May, twice a week, the children will run around the blacktop, complete 25-yard dashes between orange cones in the school yard and learn what it means to get the young pipes working.

But let there be no confusion: May 1 is going to be the real deal, when children run their first full mile.

“It’s fun to train them, then sit back and watch them succeed,” Sanchez said.