In the running spirit

NEWPORT BEACH ? Last school year, Principal Charlene Metoyer started a walking program at Eastbluff Elementary School, guessing that her students would like a little exercise after a long day in the classroom.

That turned out to be an understatement.

Since the Walk to Washington program began in fall 2004, Eastbluff has blossomed into a haven for young athletes. Last fall, the school added a running program for students too restless to walk and sent 62 runners to the Orange County Marathon in January. It was the first time that students from school had run in the marathon ? and on Sunday, Eastbluff plans to go one better by sending its first five-kilometer team to the Spirit Run in Newport Beach.

“The kids basically said, ‘What’s next? We can’t stop now,’ ” Metoyer said before the team’s final practice on Wednesday afternoon.

When the Spirit Run kicks off at Fashion Island on Sunday morning, 189 Eastbluff students ? about 53% of the student body ? are expected to toe the starting line. Most of the participants are entered in the one-mile race, but a smaller group is opting for the tougher five-kilometer course.

In December, a month before the Orange County Marathon, the parent coaches at Eastbluff started a 5K training course, leading students twice a week through a Back Bay trail behind campus. A handful of Eastbluff students ran five kilometers in the marathon, with two of them finishing high: fifth-grader Teddy Parks won the men’s 12-and-under division, and classmate Ally McCormick took fourth in the women’s.

Earlier in March, the team entered a track meet at Corona del Mar High School and bested its mile time from the marathon; on Sunday, it will aim to shatter another record as well. Eastbluff has sent students in the past to the five-kilometer Spirit Run, but this year the school took it to a whole new level.

“We didn’t even plan to have a ? [five-kilometer] team,” parent and coach Diane Daruty said. “Some of the kids were just so aggressive.”

It took aggression to stay on the five-kilometer squad, which started in December by requiring all students to run two miles without stopping or walking. Once the team was assembled, the coaches imposed a tight training regimen: The students ran uninterrupted for 15 minutes at first, then gradually raised the bar to half an hour.

Most of the Eastbluff runners entered the Spirit Run for exercise, but nine of them ? known as the Pace Group ? are also running for time. The pacers, including Teddy and Ally, have run speed workouts twice a week in addition to the regular practices.

“I do water polo four times a week, so I’m used to it,” said fifth-grader Thomas Sweeney, 10.

The Spirit Run, now in its 23rd year, benefits the five elementary schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s Corona del Mar zone: Eastbluff, Andersen, Harbor View, Lincoln and Newport Coast. Kathy Kinane, the race director, said around 1,300 children usually sign up to race around the rolling hills of Fashion Island.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Eastbluff runners disappeared down the winding Back Bay trails one last time ? and after returning, they planned to pack it in and recuperate until Sunday.

“Usually, the week before, we just taper off,” Ally said. “We don’t work too hard.”