Student Run LA (SRLA)
The mission of Students Run LA is to challenge underserved secondary students to experience the benefits of goal-setting, character development, adult mentoring and improved health by providing them with a truly life-changing experience: The training for and completion of the Los Angeles Marathon. To carry out it’s mission, SRLA has five key objectives. Students Run LA has implemented a strategic plan to ensure the organization’s vibrancy, sustainability, and growth into the future. Learn about SRLA’s strategic plan.
Our Story Have you met Harry, Eric, or Paul? The SRLA story began in 1986, when Harry challenged his high school students at a continuation school in Boyle Heights to train with him for a marathon. His students, labeled misfits and under-achievers, not only finished the Los Angeles Marathon but graduated high school and went on to college and careers. Learning of this nontraditional pathway to inspiring students, Eric and Paul challenged students at their continuation high school to run a marathon with them. Hearing about their success, Roberta Weintraub, an LAUSD Board Member, invited Harry, Paul, and Eric to her office to bring this opportunity to students throughout Los Angeles, and in 1989 Students Run LA was born. Today, teachers across Los Angeles are still working with at-risk students, challenging them to change their lives through running a marathon. The family has grown, but the results are still the same.
