Students Run LA (SRLA)

In 1986, a continuation high school teacher in East Los Angeles, Harry Shabazian, experienced firsthand the transformative power of running a marathon. As a result, he challenged his students, labeled misfits and underachievers, to train with him for the next LA Marathon. In 1988, after witnessing Harry's success with his students, two other continuation high school teachers, Eric Spears and Paul Trapani, joined Harry in running the Marathon with their students. In 1989, Roberta Weintraub, a Los Angeles Board of Education member, observed the altruistic work that these teachers were accomplishing and its positive impact on the students. Roberta and her deputy, Marsha Charney, swiftly established this as an effective and innovative dropout prevention after-school program for the Los Angeles Unified School District students.

In 1993, Students Run LA became an independent 501(c)3 organization. It has since reached more than 75,000 students from 185 public schools and community programs to train alongside their adult mentor throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Each year, SRLA provides its students and SRLA mentors with training shirts, running shoes, entry fees, and transportation to the races, a marathon uniform, marathon-day support, and more. Decades later, SRLA continues to carry out this successful teacher-led training program by challenging at-risk students to train for and run a marathon to experience the benefits of goal-setting, character development, adult mentoring, and improved health.