Like students, teachers at Central also look for different ways to stay active and have fun outside of school.

For Stacy Cunningham, world and classical languages teacher, this involves participating in half marathons.

Cunningham started running half marathons six years ago, which amounts to 13.1 miles each, and has completed 10 so far.

When it comes to balancing time, Cunningham said that half marathons are easier to incorporate into her weekly schedule, therefore causing less stress.

“I find it is pretty easy to fit [training] into my schedule, since at most it’s a 12-mile training run, which isn’t bad,” Cunningham said.

To help motivate her through a run, Cunningham enjoys running with other people.

“I like to run with friends, since having a buddy to chat with makes the run go by so much faster and much more easily,” said Cunningham. “I also record how many miles I run per month so that I can keep on track with training and also to challenge myself to do more for the next month.”

For the most part, Cunningham’s running experiences have been positive, finding that one challenge she faced involved finding her way to the race.

“I once had a half marathon that I signed up for, but I became lost on the way to the actual race,” said Cunningham. “After driving around aimlessly for half an hour, the race had started, it was pouring rain and I decided to give up and get brunch instead – I never regretted it!”

Although training for marathons can take up a lot of time, half marathons are more conducive with a teacher’s schedule and can be great ways for students to stay focused during the school year.

Despite training, it is never hard to keep up with work at school, Cunningham said. She often trains more over the weekends.

“The long run is on a weekend and at most it’s only two hours, which isn’t bad at all,” said Cunningham. “Plus, it gives me an excuse to eat a lot on the weekends, which I appreciate!”