Revere Teachers Run Marathon

Teachers from Paul Revere Middle School’s Physical Education Department ran the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 3 hours, 48 minutes and 55 seconds. As a four-person relay team, Revere teachers Holli Omori, Justin Koretz Paul Foxson and Michelle Hernandez each ran a little over six miles. Entered under the name ‘Revere PE,’ they passed off the timing chip from running shoe to running shoe at specified intersections. Koretz had run the marathon the previous eight years. Seven of those years he ran it alone but last year he tapped Omori to run the first 13 miles, while he ran the second half. The pair finished in four hours and 45 minutes. This year’s newcomers, Foxson ran at a six-minute mile pace and Hernandez was happy to be the person that crossed the finish line. ‘I decided to get more of the teachers involved to set a good example for the kids,’ Koretz said. ‘We make the students run every week.’ [The legendary one-mile Sunset run, as well as the Around the World, Big Bear and Grass Mile, are required of all students at least once a week.] This year he enlisted the entire department for the marathon, including Marty Lafolette and Ray Marsden, who both begged off at the last minute. One had family reunion to attend, the other a Bar Mitzvah. ‘We tried to get them to change the date of the L.A. Marathon,’ Koretz joked. ‘How are you coming with that?’ Foxson asked. The boys’ P.E. office at Revere is a gathering place not only for students, but parents as well because of the quick wit, the easy-going personalities and the optimistic nature of the teachers, who last year were the recipients of the Lori Petrick Award for Excellence in Education. To train for the marathon, Koretz arrived at the school by 6 a.m. ‘I run to the beach and back,’ he said. ‘It takes about an hour.’ More often than not, he was accompanied by one of his teammates. In addition to setting a good example, the teachers sought sponsors with all proceeds going D.R.E.A.M.S. (Developing a Responsible, Educated and Moral Society) Foundation, a non-profit organization that Koretz started 10 years ago to provide scholarship assistance to high school seniors. ‘I had a student whose father passed away at an early age with a brain tumor,’ he said. ‘I wondered how could I help him?’ Since 2000, 24 students have been selected to receive a $5,000 scholarship, including three students from Palisades High School, Lillee House-Peters (George Washington), Christine Kalinowski (UCSC) and Danielle Rochlin (Princeton).