Teacher runs Paris Marathon

April 6 is a day that will be in Kaiserslautern Elementary School Teacher Linda Babcock’s mind for the rest of her life. On that day, Ms. Babcock, age 55, completed a goal – she ran and completed the Paris Marathon. That’s 26.2 miles or 42 kilometers. And she crossed the finish line in 5 hours and 8 minutes.

***image1***She’s a motivator to her students to learn a lot and to keep fit. She’s a motivator to her colleagues, as well, with her boundless energy and excitement.

This is because not only does Ms. Babcock teach third-grade students, but also teaches aerobics and strength training to her colleagues (and is a fitness mentor to some of them), does turbo kickboxing, and does hula and line dancing after hours. She keeps herself motivated and disciplined by hula-hooping, double-dutch jumproping, line dancing and playing actively with students during recess. 

***image2***So how did Ms. Babcock end up running a marathon? She stated, “I said I wanted to do it once in my life – just once. But now, I’m going to run one in Berlin in September with some of my training partners.” 

It should be noted that her training partners are some 20 years younger than she. Also, her 21-year-old daughter, Jackie, a senior at Ohio State and a breakdancer, is getting ready to train with her mom this summer to run that
marathon as well. 

***image3***“I would like to encourage more women in my age category to become more actively involved in fitness because it makes a difference,” Ms. Babcock said. “As we near retirement age, it’s most important to stay active for our health.” 

Ms. Babcock feels that when her students know that she is doing something interesting and active, it makes them know that she is a real person. One of her students, 9-year-old Chandler Lancina said of her teacher, “She’s nice, smart and strong … she teaches us well. She makes learning fun. One day, I want to be like her and run a marathon.”