Runners awoke at 4:30 on Sunday morning in the pitch black and cold to board a bus that would take them to Sylmar, CA. The bus was filled with students and parents from Rialto High School and Frisbie Middle School and lasted 1½ hours. The bus arrived around 7:30 am and the runners were anxious for the start of the race.

Many runners tried their best despite the course being one of the most difficult yet with little level ground.

“It sucked,” Jessica Mendoza replied. “It was raining and cloudy and the wind was really cold.”



While the runners tried their best, Mother Nature was anywhere but with them. It was raining, 48 degrees cold, and had wind gusts of up to 9 mph.

“It was horrible,” Natalie Sisneros said. “It made me cry because it was cold and wet and I smelled.”

Still some loved the rain.

“The weather was perfect,” Yoshi Gama said. “I love when it rains. Whatever kind of weather, I always push myself a hundred fifty percent to do great.”

Despite the horrific weather, they couldn’t help but cheer on their fellow runners and classmates.

“Seeing all of the SRLA students Sunday morning made me realize there are a lot of good runners coming a long,” Yoshi Gama said.

Everyone was ecstatic when they crossed the finish line, and filled with an emotional high.

“I felt like crying,” Spencer Baldwin said, “Because the last mile or so of the race was uphill, it took emotional strength to finish..”

It takes a special type of person, filled with determination and inspiration to run these events.

“I don’t do anything,” Mrs. Robertson, the moderator for Rialto High Schools marathon team said. “You can’t inspire someone to do this; they have to have something inside them to do this and challenge themselves.”

It is no doubt that for many of these runners, running has become a part of their lives.

After completing the run, the students were wet and cold and tired. Many runners passed out on the bus and were only awakened upon reaching Rialto High School.