As we all know, a marathon is 26.2 miles long, and our very own sixth grade Language Arts Teacher ran half of that as part of the Salt Lake City Marathon on April 21, 2012 to support her friend Kim Darby who recently passed away from breast cancer.  Kim Darby was apart of the Juan Diego family.  Ms. Leonard has done a very sweet thing, running in memory of a Juan Diego friend, and raising money while doing so.

            The race started at the University of Utah and the trail went through the Sugar House Park and ended up at the Gateway. To prepare for the 13.1 miles that she ran, Ms. Leonard started running four miles every Saturday in the month of January. The number of miles increased as time went on.  In addition to that preparation, Ms. Leonard also ran for forty minutes during the week. 

            Running a half marathon is a very hard thing to do and it takes a long time, but Ms. Leonard did it in two hours, forty-three minutes and twenty seconds.  Out of the 3,494 participants, Ms. Leonard finished in 3,082^nd place. 

            After competing in the race, Ms. Leonard said, “I feel like I accomplished something.”  She also mentioned that she was extremely hungry.  Ms. Leonard feels great now that the race is over and done with.  By the Monday after the race she was back to her normal self, no stiffness or soreness.  She certainly accomplished something that most people would never consider doing.  Her intentions were good because she ran the half marathon for a friend.  Rest in Peace, Kim Darby.