Going the distance: Young runners from northern school prepare for 940-kilometre trip to Manitoba Marathon

A group of young runners deep in training in Brochet, Man., are getting ready tomake a roughly 940-kilometre journey by plane, bus and finally on footall the way to the finish line at the Manitoba Marathon.

"I'm just trying to put myself back in their shoes, being in Grade 5 and having to run 10 kilometres or half a marathon it just blows my mind," said Tim Giannotti, the phys-ed teacher at Brochet School.

For the past four years, Giannottihas been in charge of a running programto train kids from grades 5 to 9and take them on thelong trip from the northern Manitoba fly-incommunity toWinnipeg for the marathon in June.

Giannotti says in the program'sfirst year,he had six kids. This year, he's got 38 nearly two-thirds of the student body in the eligible grades plus a handful of staff members, and even the parents of some students.

"It feels good when you're donelots of energy," said Eliza Halkett, 14.

The Grade 9 student has been running in the group for two years, along with her younger brother Isaiah, 12, her older brother Dwight, 17, and her mom, Denise Halkett.

"I'm really proud of them," DeniseHalkettsaid. "Sometimes we encourage one another it's not easy."

Before the Manitoba Marathon last year, Isaiah couldn't make it through a practice without taking a break,Giannottisaid. But when he got to Winnipeg, he ran the event's 10-kilometre race in an hour and eight minutes.

"I felt tired," Isaiah said of the big finish. His next goalis to run in the half-marathon just over 21 kilometres.

"We'll see," he said.

Overcoming obstacles

It's not always easy to train in the far-northern community, Giannoti said.

"The challenges we face here are the same as any other isolated community: the high cost of food, limited opportunities to compete in sportand different social issues," he wrote in an email.

Not all students have access to the right running gear, and he said he's seen the odd kid make it through an outdoor practice in rubber boots. Aspart of the trip, the band gives each student who heads to Winnipeg$100 to buy brand-new shoes, which they go pick out together at Polo Park Shopping Centre.

Another challenge was this year's late spring, whichmeant they still had deep snowin early April and had to runan awful lot of laps around the school gym during practice.

Inthe second year of the program, they ran into a pack of wolves while jogging outside town limits. Now, the grandparents of one of the students ridealong with them in a quad to keep an eye out for wildlife when they leave town.

ButGiannottisaid running outside of town, in the wooded areas along a nearby lake, is still the students' preferred path.

Giannottisaid he was inspired to start the program by other northern schools in the Frontier School Division that have similar clubs, and he saw an opening for sports programming at Brochet School.

The school has plenty of sports programming in the fall and winter, he said, leading up to the Frontier Games a massive, multi-sportevent for students across the division but there weren't many options for kids after the Games wrapped up.

A sense of confidence

"It's really cool to see how they get a sense of confidence, and they understand, 'OK, all this hard work I did back home is translating to me being here, being able to run with I think it's 20,000 people run in the Manitoba Marathon.'"

Diane Disbrowe, who works for the health department with the region's Barren Lands First Nation, said she's proud of the students committed to the program. Her own daughter ran in a Manitoba Marathon race two years ago, and she's participated in the club as well.

"It's really nice to see so much involvement running in the community, staying active, staying healthy," Disbrowe said.

"It's a fun and healthy thing that they're doing. I know a couple of parents like Denise [Halkett]get involved, and I know the parents encourage their kids."

The students from thecommunity of roughly 800 run alongside thousands in the well-attended Manitoba Marathon. Last year, roughly 12,000 people ran in the event.

To get to the starting line, Giannotti saidthe school has to charter a 12-seater plane to Thompson, Man., and then travel the remaining 650 kilometres to Winnipeg by bus.

Giannotti has set out rules for kids who want to make the tripconcerning attendance at practices and in class, and making sure they're keeping up with their schoolwork.

In previous years, he's brought 10 students to the Manitoba Marathon. This year, with more kids participating in the club than ever before, Giannotti said he's not sure how many he'll be able to bring to Winnipeg but he doesn't want toleave any students behind.

"If the kid's working hard and they're meeting all of what you've set out for them, then you've got to try and work a way to get them to go," he said.

"We'll figure it out."