Written by: Anahit Mkhitaryan
SRLA Organization and Club in HTLA
SRLA (Students Run Los Angeles) is a nonprofit goal-setting organization that partners with HTLA to have a club and an X-block. It is a 36-year-old organization and its purpose is to allow students to learn and grow through running. Each month they race and in the process of training and preparing for the race they face obstacles and challenges that they have to figure out how to navigate, this is why SRLA is a goal-setting organization and not solely marathon training.
“SRLA is how we navigate obstacles of life.”(Mr.Killian) SRLA allows students to connect with others through a challenging experience. It allows people to be able to do something hard and fun because SRLA recognizes that even if something is just challenging and not fun people will lose interest. The goal is to have a place where people can do something that is hard and has many challenges in hopes of getting a life-changing experience and potentially also running a marathon. Many parents get the opportunity to better be involved in their students and support them which creates a better bond and relationship. SRLA is a small community where the goal of coaches and parents is to support students.
What SRLA Does
The club has one race a month that starts in September and gets harder and longer to prepare for the Los
Los Angeles Marathon
Last year 14 students joined the club and 10 of those students completed the LA marathon. This is amazing on its own but for the seven runners, it was the first marathon they ever ran! This year the club already has 22 students. They will be running the marathon again this year on March 16 and the students who get to run get picked by Mr.Killian.
Coaches and Goals
Mr.Killian is the coach of SRLA in HTLA as well as Mr. Haberman and Ms.Park. Mr.Killian has thirty years of running experience and started running as a freshman in High school. He has learned that “the sport of running can not be faked and the only way you could do it is by knowing how to do it well.” His goals for the club are personal and things he wants to teach and hope students take from SRLA. He wants to build better connections and become a better teacher and person based on the lessons he gets from running.
SRLA’s Goal for This Year and the Communications Team
SRLA recognizes that sports do not have an equal role for men and women. SRLA takes on the task of gender parity meaning to have as close to equal amounts of men and women as possible which is their goal this year. To be able to do this every school that has SRLA including HTLA now has a communications team. The purpose of the communications team is for students who are a part of it to be a role model for other students and to better connect and support their peers.
Mr.Killian gives the example, “ If (a member of the communications team) sees another young woman on the team that has been struggling to find a connection or stay motivated she can relate to them better than I can.” The other purpose of the communications team is to remind and help students about deadlines and contracts to split the role between the coaches and students. They make weekly newsletters that include what they plan to do, donations, races, and meeting times. This year the members of the communications team are Maneli Polee, Alena Gordienko, and Charlotte Osorio Garcia.
Why Run?
Different people run for many different reasons. For example, for Mr.Killian, it is the fact that he likes to spend time alone but also gets energized by spending time with others which is what SRLA allows. Many people also simply run to maintain their health and live a healthy lifestyle. Running gives great purpose to people who enjoy it and is an amazing way to connect with others.
To join the club or for questions, you can talk to one of the SRLA coaches on campus or email the student team captain Maneli Polee at [email protected].
