Westwood's Lellock Kicks Into High Gear For Boston Marathon

WESTWOOD, MA - Slow and steady may not win the race in the case of Westwood resident Jasmine Lellock. But her 20-year training effort to qualify for the Boston Marathon shows that perseverance does pay off.

The English teacher at Newton South High School is running to support the Newton Schools Foundation. The nonprofit provides funding for programs to address racial and income inequalities for students as well as for professional development opportunities.

The link to her GoFundMe page is here.

Lellock, who has been a teacher since 2000, said she was first inspired to begin running by a couple of her students.

"I've been trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon for as long as I've been a teacher," she said with a laugh as she chatted over her lunch break. "When I was a new teacher, a couple of students on the indoor track team said, 'Hey Miss, do you want to run a lap with us?'"

After running for about a quarter of a mile, Lellock knew she needed to step up her game.

"I was 22 or 23, and I was huffing and puffing," she said. "I did not need to be in that kind of shape, so within the week I decided that I was going to train for a marathon."

Lelland began running outside as well as with her school's indoor track team. By the end of that year, she competed in the Cape Cod Marathon.

"By then I just couldn't stop," she said. "I'm not naturally fast, so it takes me some work to get there. I like the distances. But for me, it's more my brain than it is my aptitude."

While she enjoys running smaller distances and generally at a slower pace, the Boston Marathon was her ultimate goal. She qualified to run for last year's marathon by eight seconds.

"In 2019, I got a coach and I worked really hard," Lellock, a teacher at Newton South for the past eight years, said. "And then we had the pandemic, so it was virtual. Because I qualified by a narrow margin, I was asked to wear a charity bib. So why not do it for my school?"

Lellock said she wanted to support the Newton Schools Foundation because of their efforts to promote inclusion through the projects they fund. She has been a beneficiary as well, receiving anti-racism professional development training along with colleagues.

"I was actually part of the development committee for this international conference to teach teachers how to talk about challenging conversations about race, class and culture," she explained. "It was the summer of COVID, so it was amazing to have the funds to be able to pull this together."

Lellock also organized a 10-day cultural exchange trip to Argentina about four or five years ago for 19 Newton South students. The Newton Schools Foundation provided scholarships for students who otherwise could not have afforded the trip. Students got to learn dances, meet locals, and experience the culture.

"A colleague of mine who teaches history and I teach in the global communities program," she said. "We work together to talk about the history and the context of the countries, like talking about 'A Tale of Two Cities' and the French Revolution. My partner's family is from Argentina, so I thought it would be great to learn more about a culture that isn't traditionally taught in English or history curriculums."

Another example of a successful program funded by the Newton School Foundation is a summer calculus enrichment class for students who traditionally might not have been placed in the class.

"They are students who have been identified by their teachers as having a proven success record," Lellock explained. "But they just may need some additional supports."

She also brought actors into her English class to talk to students about their performances of Shakespeare.

To those who think they may not be up to a challenge, whether it is running or another area, Lellock offered this advice.

"You have to have a good sense of humor," she said. "Like with COVID, we had to start teaching kids on computers. You just have to be open and say, 'Why not?'

"Also, people are capable of so much more than they think they are able to do," she continued. "I see that in my English students. Some of them are afraid to get a word wrong. They just need encouragement, and I think that's true for adults, too."

There is a marathon training program at the school, she added. Lellock tries to encourage students by her example.

"Sometimes they say, 'I can't even run a mile,'" she said. "I told them I was the same way. But once you run one mile, you just have to do it 25 more times."

One part of the race she is looking forward to is running through the hills of Newton near the school, where some of her students said they will be cheering her on.

"I think I'm the only one who will be excited to the Newton hills," she said, "because they will be there, too."

She added that she loves running in Westwood, particularly at the Hale Reservation.

"I'm just going to take my time and enjoy the day," Lellock said of the big race. "I'm going to get to the finish line and get my medal, even if I have to crawl."