Yahoo Movies Running group, honoring memory of founders’ son, seeks shoes for disadvantaged kids
Sophia Karperos, 20, is a varsity runner at Yale University who found her love of running in Sacramento as a second grader at Twin Rivers Elementary School in Natomas. Back then, she signed up for the “Runnin’ for Rhett” program, sponsored by a Sacramento couple, Randy and Beth Seevers, who established the organization in 2007 the memory of their 7-year-old son, a victim of cerebral palsy.
“I remember ... my friends and I went to the front of the starting line,” the Yale sophomore said of her first running experience at Twin Rivers. “It is so funny looking back. You are supposed to let the fastest runners go, so we had to move back. I didn’t even run the whole thing. I walked and jogged with a fifth grader. But I remember being so excited … Everyone was happy to be there. Everyone was so encouraging and congratulatory. It was a wonderful community event. “
Today, she competes against runners from other Ivy League schools. She runs cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring.
And the Runnin’ for Rhett organization is still at it, too, after 14 years, sponsoring six-week race training programs at upwards of 100 elementary and middle schools in five counties in the region, culminating in two big events a year, the maraFUNrun and the Run Because You Can 5-K. Nearly 38,000 children have been trained through the Runnin’ for Rhett youth fitness program, Randy Seevers said.
But it has become increasingly clear that many of the students need the proper shoes to train and race. The couple hopes to raise $17,500 through The Sacramento Bee’s Book of Dreams campaign to buy running shoes for student runners whose parents can’t afford to buy them.
“My dream is to see 500 underprivileged children in the Runnin’ for Rhett Youth Fitness Program receive a new pair of running shoes,” said Seevers, who was a sales manager at The Bee from 1980 to 2008. Each pair of New Balance shoes costs him around $35, a heavily discounted price arranged through Sacramento-based Fleet Feet Sacramento, the area’s well-known athletic wear store.
He has already given out some running shoes for their “Run Because You Can” 5K race on Dec. 4 at Crocker Park.
But now isn’t soon enough to begin finding ways to put shoes on the feet of those training for the spring race, which will occur on April 24 next year at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium.
At Rio Linda’s Orchard Elementary School, second grade teacher Nicole Watte, 43, is already lining up students for next year’s training program and race. She has about 50 children from second up to sixth grade she wants to get out there. She uses a weekly training plan, including a nutrition component, provided by the Rhett organization.
“I always tell them when you come out make sure you are wearing shoes you can run in. Yet a lot of them just don’t have that,” she said. “Some have tennis shoes, like Converse, some come in sandals.
“My school certainly has kids with stable financial situations, but I have kiddos who are living with their parents in their car or bouncing from different people’s houses. We have a wide array of situations, but I’d say at least 50 percent of the kids in the training program need athletic shoes.”
Watte emphasizes to the kids that winning a race is not the most important aspect. She said the program teaches goal setting, perseverance and teamwork.
One of her former Rhett runners came across a fellow runner struggling to finish a race. Instead of pushing ahead to the finish line, she stuck with the child struggling so they could finish together.
Another boy who she said had behavior struggles in school, joined in one of the races a year or two back, and constantly reminds her of the time he kept up with her, running the race alongside her the whole time.
“Runnin’ Rhett has really touched my life,” she said. “It is an amazing thing that Rhett’s parents could turn something so tragic into an amazing training program that over the course of time has reached thousands of kiddos.”
Rhett race volunteer Derek Dokter, 22, often helps out at the races some 11 years after he did his first race at age 11 while a student at Butler Elementary School student in Elk Grove. Dokter today is a varsity track and cross country runner at Cal State Stanislaus. He attributes his love of the sport to his first Rhett race.
“I volunteer with them quite often.,” he said. “They have a good impact on youth. I feel it gives a lot of kids a great outlet at a young age.”
And he knows from experience it is important to have the right shoes.
How you can help
For more than three decades, The Bee has asked readers to provide a gentle lift to Sacramento organizations helping the needy during the holiday season. Last year, more than $200,000 was raised to help 32 community organizations. To help in this year’s Book of Dreams campaign, you can make a donation at: Sacbee.com/bookofdreams
