Parkside Marathon brings more than 200 runners together

Posted 5/30/19

Nearly every student at Parkside Elementary School ran in the school’s marathon this year.

Out of 207 kids, all but two qualified and every student from Clark Elementary School qualified, …

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Parkside Marathon brings more than 200 runners together

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Nearly every student at Parkside Elementary School ran in the school’s marathon this year.

Out of 207 kids, all but two qualified and every student from Clark Elementary School qualified, bringing the total to 217 runners altogether.

“The number of qualifiers we had this year was definitely a highlight,” said Cathy McKenzie, who founded the Parkside marathon. “Also, the number of spectators was also impressive and appreciated this year. We had great weather and a great atmosphere to celebrate all of our Parkside runners!”

To qualify, students in kindergarten and first grade had to run 72 laps over the course of the school year, which equals about 12 miles. In second and third grades, kids ran 100 laps to qualify (that equals about 17 miles), while fourth- and fifth-graders ran 150 laps (25 miles).

After logging miles throughout the school year, kids ran their final laps together at the marathon finale earlier this month.

The top two runners in the school were Brady Harvey (300 laps, 50 miles) and Emery Hernandez (284 laps, 47.3 miles.)

They stayed together lap for lap almost the entire year until Hernandez got sick in April and had to take a couple days off, McKenzie said.

“They are both impressive runners and athletes,” she said. “They both regularly ran 10-11 laps in a 15-minute recess.”

The top runners for each grade level were:

K: Tucker Kovach —108 laps (18 miles)

1st: Karen Richmond — 110 laps (18.3 miles)

2nd: Justin Marquez — 130 laps (21.7 miles)

3rd: Veronica Kovach — 189 laps (31.5 miles)

4th: Brady Harvey — 300 laps (50 miles)

5th: Colin Walker — 202 laps (33.7 miles)

For McKenzie, this year’s marathon was bittersweet, as it marked her last one at Parkside. She will teach at Powell High School next year.

“The marathon is definitely one of the things I will miss the most next year!” she said. “It is always one of my favorite days of the year. Watching 200-plus runners take off and run is just so exciting!

McKenzie said that the marathon “would never be possible without the help of so many people at Parkside, especially Anna Cubbage and Patty Startin who work so hard at keeping track of the numbers and taking pictures of the qualifiers and so many other behind-the-scenes details.”

She also thanked all of the sponsors who have been so generous in supporting this event.

“An especially big shout-out goes to the Parkside PTG who provides the funds for the majority of the T-shirts,” McKenzie said. “Their support has been unwavering and so appreciated over the years.”

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