Demarest club training for the Sunshine Classic

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Pass by Demarest Elementary School on some days during recess and one might see students running up and down the front sidewalk along Broughton Avenue. These kids are part of a running club and what they are doing is training for the mile run at the Sunset Classic next month. Practice began two weeks ago and the club, advised by teacher Jessica Barton, is called Run for Fun.

It is a new activity at Demarest, open to fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders. The response to running just for the fun of it was considerable: 90 of the 230 children in those grades signed up. Barton said this was three-times the number of runners she thought she would get. Training is once a week, on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, depending on a runner’s grade level. But all grades train the same. When the fourth-graders practice, Barton has a Demarest staff member assisting her.

A distance of about a quarter-mile has been measured off as a course. It is from Pilch Street, at one end of the school, to the teachers’ parking lot at the other end. Barton runs at the head of the group.

“I am keeping my eye on them to last a mile,” she said at the school. “At the first practice, they weren’t allowed to pass me. Most of them are sprinters.”

Practice has surprised many of the students. Barton said they had not realized, before learning how to run at a pace, that they could put in a strenuous effort over a distance without exhausting themselves. But most of the children seemed to be already involved with sports and some girls said they were cheerleaders with the William Foley League.

“One of the nicest things was when a girl said to me that she never thought it would be fun to grab a friend and go running,” Barton said.

The teacher had spoken with Demarest Principal Mary Todaro during the fall about having a running club. Barton knows running. She has trained through Fleet Feet, in Montclair, and now mentors other runners. She was scheduled to race in the NJ Marathon this past Sunday, April 30. And she knew Tom Fleming, the well-known distance runner from Bloomfield. She credited him with lighting a fire under her for running. Fleming, who died unexpectedly April 19, had agreed to speak with her runners. Barton said the children had not been told this. Todaro had arranged the visit.

Asked how far she runs in a marathon, Barton told her students that one time around the track at Foley Field is a quarter mile and four times around is a mile. For a marathon, she tells them to multiply four times around the track by 26.
“Their jaws drop,” she said.

After practice, the kids go back to their classrooms and keep a log of their workouts. Barton said goals are set and the students must record if they were met. When practicing on their own, the children must still keep a log and a parent’s signature must verify what what was recorded. These logs will be reviewed. From this, the two most dedicated runners at each grade level will be determined. Barton said Todaro will pay the entry fee to the Sunset Classic for these six children.

According to Barton, Demarest is the only Bloomfield elementary school with a track club. She thinks next year another staff member will be involved with her. But Run for Fun will remain a springtime activity with the Sunset Classic being its goal.

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