Going The Distance: GCHS Teachers Compete In Chicago Marathon

Among a sea of 45,000 runners on a perfect autumn day, five teachers from set an ultimate example for their students - running 26.2 miles thru the streets of downtown Chicago for the Bank of America Marathon on Oct. 9.

Jimmy Centella, a Spanish teacher, Joan Rush, an English teacher, Shanna Piggott, a Chemistry teacher, Jessica Reblin a Special Education teacher and Jenna DeFazio a Foreign Language teacher all had different reasons to compete.

This was Reblin’s first marathon. The 27-year-old from Vernon Hills said she put her mind to running it, and then began her training. She said she felt prepared and ready for the race.

“Everyone is so hyped up about being together and doing the same thing so it’s just such a positive feeling,” Reblin said.

Gearing up for the race she had one goal in mind – finish in less than four hours.

She began in a slow-paced group but quickly passed them and started clocking the miles.

Reblin said she didn’t cramp up and was well hydrated making the physical hurdles easier. She relied on the crowd for the mental blocks. “The signs that people were holding and the excitement really made the race go by faster.”

By mile 22 Reblin started to get tired, but then spotted her parents in the stands.

“That was the best part of the entire thing," she said. "It was awesome seeing them out there, feeling such an incredible sense of accomplishment.”

Reblin finished the race in 3:40:06.

Still riding the high days later, saying, "it was just awesome.”

A Test of Strength and Survival for Others

For long time marathoner and English teacher Joan Rush it was quite a different experience.

The 53-year-old from Libertyville fell injured in the final weeks of her marathon training, suffering from plantar faschiatis in her left foot.

“All of a sudden it just came up with shooting pain. I could barely walk,” Rush said.

Fearing she would have to miss the race altogether, she scheduled several appointments with her podiatrist using any and all forms of therapy and techniques to relieve the pain.

“I just had to keep visualizing myself finishing the race. I really wanted to do it and I knew it was going to be a lot of pain, but I had to do it,” she said.

Rush took up distance running at age 45 when she competed for the first time in the Chicago marathon in 2004. Since then she’s run it six times, adding the Boston marathon in 2006 and the New York City marathon in 2009 to her running resume.

But Sunday was the first time she had competed with an injury.  

“I was limping most of the way. My husband jumped in at mile 17 and ran in his regular street clothes for the last nine miles with me,” Rush said. “He was literally holding me up at the end. I couldn’t have done it without him there to support me, physically and mentally.”

Rush said this race was all about survival. Days afterward she can barely walk due to her injury, and while she expected the pain, she knew she couldn’t back out of the race.

“If I hadn’t run I would have been in far worse shape mentally than I am physically now,” she said.

Rush finished the race in 5:08:41, more than an hour over her regular time.

“I wanted to qualify for the other marathons this year in Boston or NYC, but it just didn’t happen that way,” Rush said somewhat disappointed. “Now I just have to get healed.”

Not the Only Injury

Jimmy Centella, the 28-year-old GCHS Spanish teacher and Cross Country and Track Coach said he had a tough training period leading up to the marathon October 9.

In July and August, the key months for his training, he felt worn out and sluggish and had to drastically cut back his mileage. He said his training wasn’t consistent, but still felt confident he could compete.

What he wasn’t prepared for were the additional challenges he would face.

“Right from the get-go my legs didn’t feel great. They were tired and heavy. I started cramping and had to stop and stretch several times along the route,” Centella added that he was also dealing with an upset stomach mid-race. “I was facing so many issues that usually just aren’t a problem at all.”

Centella, a 2002 graduate of Grayslake High School, said running always came easy to him. Considering himself a middle-distance runner he began training for marathons when he wanted a greater challenge.

For Centella, it’s as much a mental feat as a physical one.

“It’s such a difficult task. It’s such a hard thing to do and when you do it, it keeps you coming back for more,” he said.

Centella finished his race in 3:29:45, 23 minutes longer than his marathon best.

“I still wanted to prove to my students that even if you don’t have a great race, you still have to persevere,” he said.

He may get some slack from fellow teachers at GCHS. Chemistry teacher Shanna Piggott finished her marathon in 3:19:09.

 “It’s definitely competitive knowing some other teachers are out there,” Centella said of Piggott beating him to the finish line.

The early bird may get the worm for the 33-year-old from Round Lake. Piggott trains by logging her miles at 4:30 a.m., before her family – husband, two sons and a daughter - are up for school.

“It started as just a little hobby and it just kept building from there,” she said. Her father was a cross country runner in high school. “Running is just what we did growing up.”

She began long distance running four years ago.

This was Piggott’s seventh marathon, having already competed in races in Schaumburg, Wisconsin, Chicago, Boston and New York.

While disappointed in her time for the 2011 Chicago race, a slight 10 minutes slower than last year, she wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

“You’re out there and the adrenaline is pumping. The work and energy you put into this race and it’s all right there in front of you for the taking,” Piggott said.

“You see this sea of people who are all there together and we’re all trying to achieve the same goal. It’s just amazing. When you cross that finish line you are wobbly and exhausted and sweaty but just so happy.”

Running for Best Buddies

Shanna Piggott wasn’t running the race for herself. For three years she has run as part of Best Buddies Illinois, a non-profit organization that pairs students with those who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The program works to create a friendship among the classmates for social activities.

Piggott said the program hits close to home. Her aunt who had special needs passed away last year.

“It’s such an honor to be able to run for this charity. I am so impressed with the program. It means so much to me,” she said of Best Buddies.

This year, Piggott raised almost $700 for the program.

GCHS students turned out to lend a helping hand at the Bank of America Marathon. To read more about that check out GCHS Cross Country Team Volunteers at Chicago Marathon.