School’s Couch to 5K program gets students, parents healthy

Usually at this time of year, sixth-graders in Sara Ohiaeri’s physical education classes would be playing soccer or softball. Instead, for the past few weeks, they have been training for a 5K run.

Ohiaeri has her students training on an eight-week endurance running program, Couch to 5K. All the hard work will culminate at Calvary Chapel Christian School’s Couch to 5K event scheduled at 8 a.m. April 20, featuring a 5K (3.1 miles) run and one-mile walk, followed by a fair featuring food, live music and vendors.

Registration is $35 for adults and $25 for those 17 or younger. The event is open to the public, and registration is available at active.com. All participants registered by April 10 will receive a T-shirt. Late registration is available from 6:45 to 7:45 a.m. April 20. The school is at 7175 W. Oquendo Road.

For more information, visit cccslions.org or call 702-248-8879.

Ohiaeri and other PE teachers at the kindergarten through 12th-grade school are encouraging not only the 570 students but also their families to participate in the program. Students walk and run in intervals to slowly build their endurance, and parents join in at Saturday training sessions and after church on Sundays. Students and parents are also receiving nutrition tips.

Students and parents are not required to participate, Ohiaeri said, but nearly everyone does. The school hosted the same event last year and raised about $20,000 for athletic and academic programs.

Last year, it was a weekend training activity, though, said schools superintendent Jim Davis. This is the first time the school incorporated it into its curriculum.

“The purpose is getting our school and families focused on getting healthy,” Davis said. “We’re trying to be careful not to go overboard and make them despise it, just to make them healthier and build up some stamina.”

Davis said last year’s proceeds helped start an iPad program for honors students, and he wants to continue expanding such programs at elementary, middle and high school levels.

“We want to continue the advancement of technology to create an iPad and wireless type of atmosphere,” he said.

Annabelle Vergiels is a parent of two at the school and is organizing the race for the second year. Vergiels has become an avid runner and got her start using the Couch to 5K system a few years ago.

“It assumes you’ve never run a day in your life,” she said.

Vergiels introduced it to officials from the school, and the idea for the 5K and fundraiser was hatched.

Her fourth-grade daughter, Olivia, this year joined the track team, which practices after school at nearby Durango High School, 7100 W. Dewey Drive.

“She seems to have a running gene,” Vergiels said. “The little girl loves it.”

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 702-224-5524.