You could say that running is in teenager Stacie Mayorga’s DNA – even if it hasn’t been easy.
Both her mother and uncle ran the Los Angeles Marathon in their youth. And this Sunday, March 17, the 16-year-old from North Hollywood is set to complete her second L.A. Marathon.
Mayorga is one of more than 3,000 students from throughout the region – from the San Fernando Valley, coastal communities like San Pedro and inland areas including San Bernardino County – who plans to run the marathon as a member of Students Run LA (SRLA), a nonprofit that offers free marathon training programs and mentorships to students at some 200 public schools.
Although Mayorga looked up to members of her family, running did not come naturally to her. Now a junior at Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, Mayorga recalled how difficult it was to run even a mile, when she tried it for the first time in gym class.
But she decided to join Students Run LA nonetheless.
“I love the whole training process. It’s really cool to see my pace and my general well-being improve,” said Mayorga.
Like many other students in the program, Mayorga said there were moments she doubted her ability to complete long races, let alone a marathon. And last year, when she ran her first L.A. Marathon, she struggled once she hit the 18-mile mark. Her mom was there, cheering her on, and Mayorga started crying.
“I started realizing, ‘Wow, I have 8 more miles left,’” she recalled. But she pushed on. “When I crossed that finish line, I was so, so happy because I had been running for over seven hours. … I was so excited to go back home and show my family my medal.”
Evelin Fuentes, Mayorga’s mother, said she never pushed her daughter to join Students Run LA. When Mayorga told Fuentes that she joined because of her mother’s own experiences in the program, Fuentes said she started crying.
Fuentes said she’s proud of how her daughter has pushed to challenge herself.
“Now she knows…
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