LOS ANGELES — The LA Marathon has been postponed due to the pandemic. It will now be held on November 7, 2021, but one group of local students has been training all year anyway through Students Run LA (SRLA).

It is a free program where middle and high-schoolers from mostly underserved communities meet and prepare to run 26 miles.

What You Need To Know

  • The LA Marathon has been postponed due to the pandemic

  • One group of local students has been training all year anyway through Students Run LA

  • Local 8th grader, Ariana Saenz ended up in a group with kids all from her school, met new people, and found a community that she lacked

  • She feels she can take on any challenge now, all skills she learned from her teammates and coaches at Students Run LA

This year, since the LA Marathon was moved, students from SRLA completed their own version with their teammates.

Local eight grader, Ariana Saenz, always played sports and is athletic, but never thought she would be able to complete 26 miles. She didn’t have an outlet while learning from home with school activities canceled. She wasn’t doing much during quarantine, so she joined Students Run LA.

Saenz ended up in a group with kids all from her school. She met new people and found a community that she lacked.

“It’s motivating seeing kids from my school and my grade joining the same thing with me. Being on the team brought me a lot of joy,” said Saenz.

Each week her team would meet safely in Griffith Park adding more miles each time and learning how to pace and keep up stamina.

“It’s so much better than running alone. Because, running alone you have no motivation, you don't have anyone telling you that you can do it. I feel like running with a team and the amazing coaches that I have, they really motivate you when you're on that mile 17 trying to go and push hard enough,” said Saenz.

She does push herself through more than she ever thought. This was a hard year, but after running 26 miles, she feels empowered and accomplished.

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“After you run, you feel like you did something that impacted your life. I feel how strong a person can be and how strong I can be as a person,” said Saenz.

It’s more than just running miles, Ariana learned so much more about herself and what she can do. She feels she can take on any challenge now, all skills she learned from her teammates and coaches at Students Run LA.

“If you set your mind to anything, you can do it,” said Saenz.

Saenz completed her marathon with SRLA and hopes to sign up for the LA Marathon in the future.