Club Gets Kids, Parents, Siblings Off And Running

On a hot, sunny afternoon, after a long day, it’s hard to get motivated to go out for a run.

That’s not the case for the 40 elementary school students who have signed up for ’s first-ever running club.

Following the closing bell last Tuesday, second- through fifth-graders were bursting with energy, some running around, others playing patty-cake or chattering noisily in gym as they waited for physical education teacher Ashley Sandstead to call attendance.

Sandstead, who is in her first year of teaching at Wescott, said she started the club in April as an alternative to other after-school options that don’t involve breaking a sweat.

“There wasn’t a physical education activity,” she said, noting a participating in running club was something easy that every youngster could do.

The activity is also an opportunity for the students to get ready for ’s annual  on May 21, which raises funds for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research, teacher scholarships and other district programs.  

Twice a week, Sandstead leads 40 children at Wescott and 11 others at in running games and drills. Last Tuesday, the students spread out across Wescott’s field and played tag, raced back and forth with partners, and then did a cool-down jog around the backstop.

“They have such good energy. They look like they can go forever,” said parent Sandra Dacosta, watching her two sons sprint back and forth in the sun.

Along with moms Jennifer Anderson and Meredith Ade, Dacosta is one of Sandstead’s parent volunteers. All three women are runners themselves and have children participating in the running club.

Dacosta, who started running at age 32 and completed her first Ironman competition at 35, said her sons would never run with her before they joined the club.

“They always said, ‘Oh Mommy, you run too fast,’ ” she recalled.

But once they’d completed one loop around the field as part of running club, they felt confident enough to join her. Now, she said, “it’s really a sport that the three of us can do together.”

Along with her husband, Dacosta and her sons will race the Lew Blond Run next weekend together.

“I think it’s important for parents, if you’re the model, if you’re doing it, they believe it’s good,” she said.

Fourth-grader Sydney Kostoglanis, on the other hand, said she was trying to turn her parents into runners.

“My mom and dad, they don’t really like to run that much," she said. "But I try to push them out the door.”

Sydney said she hadn’t done any races yet, but after the running club, she might want to run track or cross-country one day.

“Sydney’s thrilled about this,” said her mom, Joy. “She decided to do it on her own.”

Mason Ade, whose mother, Meredith, is a parent volunteer, is already a Lew Blond veteran.

“I’ve been running since I was, like, 5,” said Mason, who is in fourth grade at Wescott. “It’s really fun. Everyone should do it.”

His little brother, Cooper, is in first grade and too young for the running club, so he hung out on the playground while his mom and brother ran around. But when it was time to leave, he, too, wanted to run—all the way home.

“See?” said his mother. “It trickles down.”