Starting with a morning jog

The theme song for “The Lone Ranger” played out of an iPod in the corner as one student counted to 10, leading his classmates in stretches before their morning jog.

Fifth-graders held one foot behind them as they stretched their hamstrings and then bent over to touch the floor before doing a quick arm stretch.

In Danielle Zankich’s classroom at Dr. Ralph E. Hawes Elementary School, students start their mornings Tuesday through Thursday by exercising.

Zankich, a runner herself, leads the two lines of boys and girls around the basketball hoops, behind the jungle gym and back to the classroom as they jog across the blacktop. Zankich said she wants her students to learn to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“I’m just hoping that they learn to love running,” she said.

Zankich has been leading her classes in this routine for three years and said the students learn to enjoy it. In the beginning of the year, the students are nervous about the run, but she eases them into it the first two weeks, until they miss it when they skip it because of the rain.

Sabrina Reid, 10, said she likes the routine and enjoys running first thing in the morning.

“I think it’s a great idea, and that you should be able to use your energy,” she said.

Sabrina said she runs about once a week with her mom and wants to join the track team when she gets to high school. Despite her experience, Sabrina said she wasn’t sure about a morning run at the beginning of the school year.

“I thought it was going to be hard, but then you get used to it, and it gets easier and easier,” she said.

Matthew Johnson, 10, also wasn’t sure about it at first, but is now on board.

“I think it’s pretty good for us because it’s healthy and it helps us get better at [running],” he said.