“Most of the time I just ran to get to other spots around the city, so if I needed to get somewhere and I didn’t have a ride, I just started running. I thought it was a pretty useful skill to have,” Rojas said.<\/p>\n
The school’s track and cross-country coach, Juana Galvan, organized their training.<\/p>\n
“In cross-country, I saw how they started falling in love with running,” said Galvan, who recognized the feeling.<\/p>\n
As a middle schooler growing up in Los Angeles, she joined Students Run L.A., a running program in Los Angeles for underprivileged kids. Galvan ran her first marathon in the 7th grade.<\/p>\n
“Running changed my life. It changed my perspective on so many things,” said Galvan, who credits running with building her confidence and helping her graduate from UC Berkeley and get her master’s degree at the University of San Francisco.<\/p>\n
MORE: Bay Area middle schooler picked as NFL PLAY 60 Super Kid, GMA’s kid correspondent<\/a><\/p>\n She wants to give teens in the San Jose area the same opportunity with South Bay Youth Runners, a program that does not just provide training for runners, but helps them pay for the costs related to running a marathon.<\/p>\n “Some of these families cannot afford running shoes or marathon fees. The San Francisco Marathon itself is $450. Running is very expensive,” Galvan said.<\/p>\n Many of the students attending Cristo Rey High School come from low-income families.<\/p>\n The school is located behind Five Wounds Portuguese National Church, on a small campus that does not have an athletic field. So most days, the students train by running on the streets of East San Jose.<\/p>\n “They’re waiting at stop lights and dealing with highway entrances,” Galvan said.<\/p>\n
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