As Jesse Rodriguez approached the playground at Chinook Elementary School, lines of flag-wagging staff and students greeted her, as did the wailing siren of a Valley Regional Fire and Rescue truck.
Friday’s festive gathering figured to be only the first for Chinook’s school counselor, who competes Monday in the 120th Boston Marathon and for its raucous crowds.
Principal Jennifer Davidson said she and several other staff members got together about a week before the sendoff to talk about how to honor their “superstar counselor” without raising her suspicions.
“She’s always busy, so it’s not hard to get things by her,” Davidson said with a laugh. “We brainstormed and came up with the poster idea.”
Rodriguez, who lives in Bonney Lake and has worked at Chinook for eight years, said running in the Boston Marathon was something of a new goal. She was in a pace group about three or four years ago, and some of her peers told her she could work toward qualifying for the event.
“I thought, ‘I must be going way too fast,’ ” she said, adding that she qualified for the marathon about 18 months ago.
While her aspirations are recent, Rodriguez’s affinity for running is not. She credits her older sister, Stacey Churchill, for suggesting they compete in a marathon together when they were young adults. But motherhood scuttled those plans.
Rodriguez said her parents helped her realize her longtime goal by setting her up with a training program at Fleet Feet Sports in Bonney Lake. She enjoyed the experience enough that she’s now a coach for the store.
“It’s just been a fantastic journey,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve met some really wonderful people of all ages – all walks of life – who have this same kind of crazy addiction.”
The training put her in a position to run with her sister in the Marine Corps Marathon four years ago in Washington, D.C. Rodriguez said her sister, who lives in Virginia, decided not to continue running marathons after that, but plans to attend the Boston Marathon. Rodriguez said her husband and parents, who are traveling from Colorado, and some friends will be there, too. The group plans to stay two days after the race to do some sightseeing.
Golden run
Rodriguez has done plenty of that lately. To celebrate her 50th birthday, she recently ran a 50-kilometer race at scenic Deception Pass.
“It was beautiful,” she said, adding that she has run about 40-50 miles per week in preparation for Boston.
But the allure of racing is about more than admiring Pacific Northwest landmarks.
“I think there’s a huge sense of camaraderie in local running communities,” said Rodriguez, who often runs with Chinook third-grade teacher Melissa Lafayette. “You form these really close friendships because you just end up talking and talking and talking.”
She also feels the chemistry that grows from those relationships is different than in other sports.
“I think it’s a nice sport because you’re really only competing against yourself,” Rodriguez said. “It tends to be a little happier, I think, than team sports, where there’s a whole win-win thing. If you tend to be a competitive person, then you’re always trying to mostly beat yourself and your own time.”
That mentality extends to the Boston Marathon. Rodriguez hopes to run the 26-mile, 385-yard course in 3 hours, 45 minutes, but said she does not want to put too much emphasis on her time.
“Whatever happens is going to be fine,” she said. “I’ve never run a course that’s quite like Boston because it’s a slow downhill and then like 3 miles of solid uphill. I’m not quite sure what that will feel like, so I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself.”
Davidson said Rodriguez’s goal-setting sets a strong example for the students at Chinook.
“We wish her luck,” she said. “We’re just super proud of the model she is for the kids.”
PHOTO BELOW: Students swarm Jesse Rodriguez on the playground at Chinook Elementary School at her sendoff party. Rodriguez runs in the Boston Marathon on Monday. RACHEL CIAMPI, Reporter
