SRO History
Students Run Oakland was founded in July 1999 by a small group of concerned Oakland residents to address a cross-section of physical, emotional, nutritional, and academic needs of young people living within the city of Oakland. These founders were inspired by a newspaper article about the Students Run LA program, which started in 1986 to train high school students to run the Los Angeles Marathon and has grown to more than 2,000 students.
Now approaching its 10th anniversary, SRO has helped youth throughout Oakland stay committed to a challenging program, become more physically fit, enhance their beliefs in their abilities, and develop long-term goals. The graduation rate of students completing the SRO program is 90%, and during the last three seasons all of our graduating seniors have been admitted to college.
| Season | Students, Schools, and Season Achievements |
| 2008-2009 | Students from Castlemont, Oakland Tech, Far West, and Lighthouse high schools completed the season. The LA Marathon changed its date several times, and SRO stuck with it. 31 students chose to extend their training season from 6 months to 9 months and completed the LA Marathon on Memorial Day weekend. |
| 2007-2008 | 35 students from Castlemont, Oakland Tech, and MetWest completed the season and ran the Los Angeles Marathon |
| 2006-2007 |
19 students from Castlemont, Oakland Tech, McClymonds High School, and MetWest High School completed the season and ran the Lost Angeles Marathon Student contract increases the minimum GPA required for participation from 2.0 to 2.5. SRO expands access to tutoring to help students with their academic achievement. |
| 2005-2006 | 48 students from Castlemont, Oakland Tech, and University Prepatory School completed the season and ran the Los Angeles Marathon |
| 2004-2005 | 53 students from Castlemont, Oakland Tech, and Fremont High School completed the season and ran the Los Angeles Marathon |
| 2003-2004 |
26 students from Castlemont and Oakland Tech completed the season and ran the Los Angeles Marathon Feature-length documentary about SRO, “Runner’s High”, was filmed during the season. |
| 2002-2003 |
Thirteen students from Castlemont and Oakland Technical High School completed the season and ran the Los Angeles Marathon Student contract introduced (see Student Contract) |
| 2001-2002 | Twelve students from Castlemont completed the season and ran the Home Depot Half Marathon |
| 2000-2001 | Eight students from Castlemont High School completed the season and ran the Big Sur Marathon |
| 1999-2000 | Students from Frick Middle School completed the season and ran the “Run to the Far Side 10k” |