Probation Employees Team Up to Maintain Running Club

It started with a couple of avid runners who happen to work at the Probation Department’s Reflections School, saying, “We should get a running club going for the kids…”

The next week, they gathered a small group of kids interested in running and they started jogging around the commercial La Mesa neighborhood near the school. The adult runners started out with modest expectations , but now regularly run 5K races with the students. Two students even ran in a 15K race.

Deputy Probation Officer Michael Rolan, who has been a probation officer for 20 years, and therapist Baylea Norman  are the duo who first put the club together 10 months ago.

The whole point in starting the club was to share their love of the sport and to give students a sense of accomplishment. Reflections School is run by the County Probation Department and the County Office of Education, and students there have been ordered by the court to attend that school. Some of them have committed serious felonies and all of them have emotional issues such as anger problems or just being unable to deal with stress.  

“We love running anyway, so it’s a treat for us to run with them,” said Rolan, who adds the  adults and kids encourage each other to run a little longer or run more stairs when they train. “I get the same exact pleasure out of it, like we’re pushing each other to do more.”

Currently the club is training for the Del Mar Mud Run 5k race in October, he said.

Since it was founded, maintaining the club has been shared among several Reflections employees and sometimes the whole office.

“It’s amazing how many staff and friends of staff have sponsored students,” Rolan said.

Some of the kids in the program don’t have adequate running shoes or clothes and they often don’t have money to pay registration fees.

Norman and her husband knew of a store that sold quality used running shoes at a discount, and they bought a large number of shoes for the kids. Other staff members have purchased additional running shoes for the students as well, Rolan said.

The club members also hold fundraisers and sell hot dogs. They’ve raised as much as $150 for race entry fees, but that doesn’t usually cover all the fees.

Every month, various staff members sponsor a student runner by paying his or her registration fees for a race. Rolan said he always asks for and often gets a discounted rate from race organizers, but it still costs something,  usually around $25 per student.

Deputy Probation Officer Cecilia Orozco, who has run in four marathons, said she doesn’t consider herself an expert, but she has offered to share some running tricks she’s learned along the way. Norman is currently on maternity leave, so Orozco has offered to step in and run with the club on a weekly basis.

 “I love running. That’s my way to release my stress and you just feel good when you’re done,” she said. “I truly enjoy teaching these kids about running and hopefully when they leave here they will keep it up.”

Counselor Kari Taylor roots the students at nearly every race, which are typically held early on Saturdays. She waits for the kids at the finish line, takes their pictures and then makes copies for them.

Teacher Cindy Stallo often runs with the students and also takes pictures of them at races including the recent Fourth of July race in Coronado.

Counselor Megan Baker is nursing an injury now but started out running with the students when the club first got started. But she still believes in the students and wants to help, so she organizes fundraisers with them and handles the entry fees and paperwork.

For Baker, the payout is the positive reaction the kids have when they complete their first race.

“All the staff are super supportive. Everyone here is involved in it in some way,” Baker said. “Everyone here, we all have different jobs, but we all have the same goal to improve these kids’ lives.”