Running FROM Trouble : LAPD’s Rosa Malan Enables Kids at Risk to Get on Right Track

Rosa Malan used to chase gangbangers. Now she runs with children in an effort to prevent them from joining gangs.

A police officer in the Valley’s Devonshire Division, Malan heads Jeopardy, an outreach program that targets youths at high risk of gang involvement.

“It works,” said Malan, 34, a 10-year member of the Los Angeles Police Department. “We have kids on probation, with robbery cases pending, that have straightened out. The ones that have dropped out of the program are in custody now or have dropped out of school. With proper direction and discipline, these kids can do great.”

With Malan, affectionately called “Mama Rosa” by the children, providing that direction, Jeopardy has steered the lives of its participants out of harm’s way and into a serious athletic endeavor--running.

In 1993 members of Jeopardy participated in 12 races covering a total of 107 miles. At last month’s Los Angeles Marathon, 38 of 39 runners from the Jeopardy program finished the 26.2-mile course. It marked the second marathon finish for 19 of them. Twenty were younger than 14.

Last year 41 of 42 runners from Jeopardy finished the L.A. Marathon. Malan ran with her group both years.

“I keep them going,” she said. “I was there to make sure they didn’t quit. It was a mommy thing.”

Eight-year-old Ivan Zepeda was the group’s youngest 1994 L.A. Marathon finisher. It took him almost eight hours, but he never stopped. Nine-year-old Eduardo Zendejas finished in 7 hours 15 minutes.

“I was exhausted and excited,” Zendejas said. “This is hard, but it’s so much fun.”

Pepe Martinez, 13, improved his time from 6:20 in ’93 to 5:40 this year.

Jose Padilla, Zepeda’s brother, was one of the top finishers in the 17-and-under division. The Monroe High senior placed fifth at last year’s City Section cross-country meet.

“This program has changed my life and it has really changed me,” said Padilla, who lives in Panorama City with his parents and five siblings.

“It got me out of trouble. . . . It’s helped me with school and it’s even taught me to communicate better with others.”

Padilla on Sunday will compete in the Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon at Griffith Park. About 40 Jeopardy members, most of whom finished last month’s L.A. Marathon, will participate in the event.

Each runner covers 5.2 miles before handing the baton to a fellow team member. Last year Jeopardy won the junior high girls’ division and the high school girls placed third.

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Their exploits come despite having poor equipment. Often they run in cutoff jeans and without proper shoes because most can’t afford the gear.

It’s frustrating, Malan says, to scrounge for every penny for a program that has made such a difference.

“We are not sponsored by the city,” she said. “We raise our own money. Our biggest expense is food and transportation.”

For this year’s L.A. Marathon, an organization loaned shorts and shirts to Jeopardy, but insisted they be returned.

Malan cajoled a local councilman’s office to donate the bus that transported runners to a Ventura beach for a workout last week.

About 50 kids participated in the 15-mile beach run and barbecue.

“It’s good to get them out of the city,” Malan said. “To keep them coming to practice we have to take these field trips. It’s like a reward.”

Malan hurt her back earlier in the week and didn’t run, but she yelled words of encouragement in Spanish and English as the kids jogged by. She also took photos with a small camera that hung around her neck.

“They’re like my kids,” she said. “I spend more time with them than they spend with their own parents. They even call me at home. It’s funny, they call me Mama Rosa.”

The program has about 57 members ages 8 to 18. They run daily, participate in weekend races and go on training journeys to the beach and mountains during school breaks.

The dedication is startling, Malan said.

Members wake to work out when it’s still dark outside. Every weekday at 4 a.m., Malan begins her rounds in a van, picking up youths throughout the Valley for their morning run.

The training sessions often begin in front of a Northridge government housing project on Parthenia St. and Wilbur Ave., where about half the kids in the program live.

The group runs from five to 10 kilometers, depending on upcoming races.

“At first the kids were getting shot at by dope dealers as they crossed the street to come to practice, so I had to start picking them up,” Malan said.

Jesus Zepeda, who has three sons in Jeopardy, is thankful his kids have a way to spend energy in a positive manner. Otherwise, the family could not afford extracurricular activities.

“The discipline has even helped them in school,” Jesus said in Spanish. “There’s more communication and an overall better relationship between family members now.”

Jesus is a bartender who works from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. He attends many of his sons’ races, but most parents are not as involved.

That’s why in addition to her work obligations, Malan dedicates an additional 20 hours weekly of her personal time to Jeopardy. She even convinced her three children, ages 14, 13 and 7, to run with the program.

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Malan grew up in Los Angeles in a family of seven siblings. She started running at 12, but three years later when she expressed interest in doing it competitively, her mother objected.

“I’m first generation Mexican-American and girls just didn’t do that,” Malan said. “My mother thought, ‘It’s not good to run.’

“Still, it changed my life. It taught me self-discipline and motivation and how to strive for things. It was also a good way to get rid of stress and frustration.”

So when Malan was taken off street patrol duty and assigned to run Jeopardy in 1992, she implemented a running program.

“I had been in Jeopardy for about seven months and I took eight of the kids on a camping trip with my family,” Malan said.

“I took them hiking about five miles to go fishing at the lake but I was on a horse. Going back it was too steep for the horse, so I got off and started running.

“It really got the kids going because they were like ‘I don’t want to get beat by that old lady.’ Then I knew I had to get these kids running.”

As long as it keeps youths out of trouble, Malan will wake up at dawn to run with them. After working the streets with the LAPD’s gang unit, she has seen firsthand what can happen to children with no direction.

“It’s sad,” Malan said. “In most cases the parents are totally oblivious. So when you see this work, it’s very rewarding.”