My Summer as an Ambassador for the SF Marathon - by Kennedy

My Summer as an Ambassador for the San Francisco Marathon

by Kennedy Schoennauer
July 2017

Our super fun race weekend began with the amazing Marathon Race Expo. Since my sister and I are Ambassadors for the San Fransisco Marathon, we helped out at the Berkeley Half Marathon booth where we talked with lots of people.

As we enjoyed helping people sign up, we received a wonderful FitBits, Jaybird earbuds and water bottles, and an ambassador helper shirt. Everyone was thankful for our help and kindness.

We were really exited for the half marathon so we took lots of pictures to recollect our memories in the future. Also, since this was the 40th anniversary for the race, it was an important race year.

The morning of the race, we woke up around 3:30 in the morning and enjoyed the warm car. It was cold in the morning and, since it was cold, I had my soft blanket by my side.

Before it was our turn to start running, we gathered with Run 365 (the team my mom coaches). We said, "good morning" to everyone we know and got prepared for the race.

As we waited in the crowd, our nerves grew and many people asked us what ambassador do. We explained what we do and the benefit's of helping others. Also, we told lots of people good luck.

This is us on the bridge. We laughed because of all the fog this year.

I was tired...not grumpy. It was a great race. The weather was just perfect!

Surf Cup - What a Weekend! by Landry

Surf Cup - What a Weekend!
by Landry Schoennauer
August 2017

We started out our weekend in Carson, California at the USA Women's National Team soccer game. They were playing Japan in the "She Believes Tournament." This is a player from the Australian National Team who were playing against France. The US went on to win their game, but got 3rd in the entire tournament.

Our next stop was San Diego for the San Diego Surf Cup. We were staying with our dad's friend at his house in San Diego. And we also spent a very warm and fun day at the San Diego Yacht Club (and beach).

MVLA needed a goalie for this tournament and I joined their team for the weekend. They needed one player, but ended up getting two. Why? Well, because of my twin sister. She played forward and mid and had a great tournament like I did.

The board you see behind my sister and I has the names of every player, on every team, in the tournament. After a long search we found our names!

When we first showed up at the hotel where the rest of the team was staying, I was nervous. I didn't know if they would be nice or welcoming. Turns out they were! Each player had their own personality and special super power out  on the field.

The weekend ended great, with an amazing third place finish. I was so glad my sister and I could spend this weekend with all the super fun teammates we met. Hopefully in the future we can play with them again and we can have even more fun!!!


By: Landry :)

What I Like Best About Running - by Kennedy

I've been running with my mom, sister, and our running team for many years. The best part about running is meeting new people, enjoying the beautiful courses, and getting a nice work out. Whether the weather is rainy or sunny, I always have lots of fun with my family and new running friends. I've had many experiences in different weather, people, and locations.

Distance running has taught me to be a better runner in many different ways. Right now, I'm also a sprinter and I use the fast reflex skills to balance my slow and steady distance paces. Look how fast I got out of that block!

To begin with, running is perfect no matter how the weather is. When you run you probably stress about it being to cold or hot. The thing is just be comfortable and have fun. Even if some people think the weather is bad, we cheer them up with our happiness. The key thing to running is just to be happy and have fun.

Next, meeting people is always one of the greatest parts of racing. When my mom paces we are always asked, "what the pace is?" By pacing people we push them to do better then they would think. When runners run with us, we get to know each other and our experiences in running. For example, we were running a half marathon and we met a 75 year old man with dementia. Not only did we help him out, but we also pushed him to stick with the pace and we talked about how he got into running and his youth experiences in Idaho.

Do you want your children to run? Here's some advice:
1- Get comfortable running clothes and shoes
2- Train with liquid to hydrate
3- Don't push to hard
Finally, have fun!

Love to Run - By Landry

 I have been running for my entire life.

"Why?" you may ask... because it is fun and a great experience.

I run with my mom and our running team, Run365. Run365 is the official training program for the San Fransisco Marathon and Half Marathon. We run every Sunday down here in the South Bay. What I like most about Run365 is that everyone has somebody who they can run with.

Besides getting a good workout, running is fun because you meet new people.

Since my mom is a coach, we meet new people every run and every race. We meet young runners, old runners, and first timers!

If the weather is rainy or sunny... who cares? We still run!

For example the Berkeley Half Marathon was in the pouring rain. Everyone was checking their phones for the weather... the weather apps said it wouldn't rain until 11. But guess what happened?... it started raining at about the half mile mark. So by the end of the race, we were totally soaked.

Well, we were really soaked well before then.

Do you want your child to become a runner just like you (or like us)?

Here is some advice:

1. Get really good training in.You can't "fake" a half marathon. You have to really train for it, and so do your kids.

2. Get comfortable shoes with really good support. This is important for kids because regularly kid shoes aren't made for long distance running. And replace them after about 300 miles.

3. The day before, eat healthy food with carbohydrates.

4. Hydrate before, during, and after the race.

Hope you have fun!... because I definitely did and I always will!

By Landry:)

Hot Chocolate - by Landry

Today we ran the Hot Chocolate 15k. The weather was raining and it was also windy. Unfortunately, the race was shortened to only a 10k because we were going to run along the Great Highway but the waves along the ocean were too much.

In case you were wondering, a 15k is 9 miles and a 10k is 6 miles. My mom was pacing the 11:30 mile pace.

At the finish line we were greeted by volunteers who had special mugs filled with sweet treats. In the end, we got really wet and were glad to go home and get in the warm shower.

By LANDRY

The Coach's 1000th Win - by Kennedy

Tara Vanderveer is the coach for the Stanford Women's Basketball. She has been coaching since 1985 and winning many games. Tara is one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time.

We went to a Stanford basketball game to support our team and cheer on Tara. Stanford's football head coach, David Shaw was sitting in front of us so that means "selfie time." 

When I was walking around I saw a booth with Stanford's women swimming team. I recognized 5 time Olympic gold medalist, Katie Ledecky and 2 time gold medalist, Simone Manuel. I quickly ran to get Landry so we can take a selfie. 

This was the game Tara Vanderveer won her 1000th win. The seniors Brianna Roberson, Karlie Samuelson, and Erica "The Bird" McCall presented Tara a picture of the team with the numbers 1000.

After the game they recognized Tara Vanderveer and awarded her.

Volunteering to Help Flood Victims - by Landry

This year there was a lot of rain... to the point where the Coyote Creek flooded. It caused problems to hundreds of houses along the creek.

We went to different houses and helped them take everything our of their basements, sheds, and even houses. It was devastating to know that people had to get rid of most of their belongings. Some people weren't even allowed to go inside of their own houses.

Most people met at the Roosevelt Community Center, where they provided volunteers with gloves, masks, cleaning supplies, water, and food. Besides just cleaning the neighborhood, volunteers had to help bring boxes of supplies inside the building.

Once all of the house belongings were out of the house, dumpsters had to come and load up the stuff. They would then bring it to the landfil.


BY: Landry Schoennauer

San Jose Floods - by Kennedy

The estimate for floods in San Jose is every 100 years. This year was the flood along the Coyote Creek. Many people's houses flooded and they needed help cleaning out their ruined furniture and backyards. They need to replace almost everything, so we decided to make a difference and help those in need.

A family along the Coyote Creek were working on cleaning all the debris from their damaged backyard. The home owner told me, "in less than 10 hours the water was at normal height and then went all the way up to the stairs of our house."

We worked hard by helping people clean and sanitize their houses. When my dad was walking across the street he saw an alligator lizard that I carried down to the creek. Many people were taking pictures of the long lizard that I named Buddy.

All the houses that got flooded were forced to rip out the walls where the water rose and discard most of their belongings.  They then had to put it all out in the street that we loaded into the dumpsters. A lady had diplomas that were wet and contaminated from the flood waters. When we saw them we were sad so my nice mom took a picture of them and sent it to the Superintendent of the school districts. The Superintendent are going to make replacement and we will deliver them to the lady.

My Experience as a Youth Ambassador - by Kennedy

I was inspired to be a leader so I decided to be a Youth Ambassador for the Women's March on Washington program. With out this experience I wouldn't have been able to share my opinions about equality.

By being a youth ambassador, I was asked to speak at the Women's March on Sacramento and inspire other kids like me that "they can be the change they want to see in this world."

On our way to this march, I had to come up with some ideas for my poster. I came up with "I may be little... But I'm fierce" and my sisters sign said, "if you build a wall...my generation will knock it down."

Since there were so many people and police officers at the event I felt safe. My sister and I were hanging out with the police officer's and we were talking about there horses.

From the signs my sister and I had, we were stopped at least 200 times for groups of people to take pictures of us and ask us questions about how we came up with our signs.

By being a youth ambassador, I got an award and I had the opportunity to share my opinion. On stage I said my speech and received an award in front of thousands of people supporting me and cheering me on.

After my speech, I was really tired from all the pictures and talking so much, by sharing my opinions with others. While I was asleep, I was thinking about many things about the march, and if I didn't speak then I wouldn't have been able to be the change I want to see in this world.

Honors Awards - Burnett Middle School - by Landry

This year I go to Peter Burnett Middle School. It has been fun so far and I am getting good grades.

That's what these certificates are for. My sister and I earned a High Honors award for the First Semester. Many of our other friends got this award too.

This is Kiela! She is our best friend at  school this year. We three got the High Honors award.

This award means that we got all A's in each of our classes. There were also Honors Awards, Perfect Attendance, and other special awards.



By: Landry Schoennauer:)