{"id":5682,"date":"2016-10-24T08:45:27","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T12:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=5682"},"modified":"2016-10-26T16:51:22","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T20:51:22","slug":"kingston-student-reaps-rewards-100-mile-running-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/kingston-student-reaps-rewards-100-mile-running-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Kingston student reaps rewards of 100-mile running challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,\u201d according to a Chinese proverb.<\/p>\n

Fifth-grader Brady McPherson began a 100-mile journey months ago with a single step, and ended it Oct. 18 to thunderous applause from his fifth-grade peers at Kingston Elementary School.<\/p>\n

\"picture-1\"<\/p>\n

McPherson, who was not an avid runner, accepted the challenge from his parents in exchange for a special reward if he accomplished the goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a few things he really focuses on which are elevators, escalators, vacuums and trains,\u201d explained Sean McPherson, Brady\u2019s father. \u201cHe\u2019s infatuated with this vacuum, the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball\u2122 vacuum. Every day he is watching videos of it. I said, \u2018If you do 100 miles, that will the gold at the end of the rainbow.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Brady found his gold in Kingston\u2019s gym after running the final 25 yards of his challenge through the school hallway to the cheers of students and staff.<\/p>\n

After high-fiving classmates surrounding him with a congratulatory banner, he hugged his dad and said with a broad smile, \u201cI did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"picture-2\"<\/p>\n

Kingston special education teacher Danielle Pellerin kicked off the brief presentation that followed, while Brady got a close-up look at his new vacuum.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those of you who do not know Brady, this is his first year at Kingston and we all could not be more thankful to have him here,\u201d said Pellerin. \u201cAt the beginning of the year, Brady told us about a challenge that his parents had set for him. His goal was to run 100 miles in exchange for the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball vacuum, which you see right here. 100 miles. How far do you think that is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot!\u201d responded fifth graders seated in rows on the gym floor.<\/p>\n

\"picture-3\"<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 400 laps during running day,\u201d continued Pellerin. \u201cImagine running 400 laps. That\u2019s a lot. Today he ran the final segment of his 100-mile challenge and that\u2019s amazing! Congratulations, Brady!\u201d<\/p>\n

The raucous applause in the gym prompted an even bigger smile from Brady.<\/p>\n

His parents were equally proud and appreciative.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, we just want to say a very special thanks to Mrs. Pellerin and all staff. This was way more than we expected,\u201d said Sean, standing with Brady and his mother Grace McPherson. \u201cWe\u2019re just really blessed to be part of the Kingston community. Somebody\u2019s smiling from ear to ear up here. That says it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"picture-4\"<\/p>\n

Sean added that earning a vacuum, which was donated by Dyson after hearing about the 100-mile challenge, was not the only benefit Brady gained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started this, Brady couldn\u2019t run half a mile,\u201d Sean told the crowd. \u201cNow when he runs, he runs three to four miles every time. To put that into perspective, it\u2019s 87 miles to Richmond, so he ran further than that. It\u2019s 26.2 miles in a marathon, which I try and run sometimes, that\u2019s four marathons. So, for any of you who want to do this or are going to try something else, just know that you can. This is really a great testament to Brady, but you guys can do this as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

His efforts also helped him transition to the new school and see friendly faces while running with his dad through the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re out running, we always hear a bunch of you screaming, \u2018Go Brady!\u2019\u201d Sean said. \u201cIf you every want a running partner, you\u2019ll see a kid smiling and you can come run with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, again, thank you guys so much,\u201d said Sean. \u201cThis is a little overwhelming and amazing, and our house is going to be the cleanest house in the neighborhood. Thank you very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood job, Brady!\u201d shouted a student, initiating more wild applause.<\/p>\n

Before everyone left, Brady wanted to address the crowd of students and staff he\u2019s only known for seven weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so honored to be here. This is just so great,\u201d he said. \u201cThank you guys so much for coming out. This is just a blessing to me. I love all you guys. You\u2019re so cool! Thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Brady took a ceremonial bow before plugging in the vacuum in the gym wall to hear it work.<\/p>\n

\"picture-5\"<\/p>\n

As the fifth-graders ran outside for the remainder of PE class, Sean reflected on what started as Brady\u2019s quest for a vacuum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s less about the running and more about the fact that I get to spend 40 minutes with him a couple times a week.\u201d Sean said. \u201cEvery person he runs by, he says, \u2018Good morning\u2019 or \u2018Good afternoon.\u2019 He\u2019s just such a sweetheart, and to see him physically fit and to see the kids, because he has his own challenges, to have them yell, \u201cGo Brady\u201d when we run by, that is great. It\u2019s special for me to get to spend quality time with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spending time with Brady at school is also one of Pellerin\u2019s favorite moments of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just exudes this energy that\u2019s amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cI get him off the bus every morning and drop him off at the bus every afternoon, and I don\u2019t have to do that because he\u2019s fully capable. But I love to start my day and end my day with that kid. He is just so sweet and positive and he\u2019s says hi to everyone, even if he doesn\u2019t know them. He\u2019s such a pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while the celebration was for Brady, Kingston principal Sharon Shewbridge noted he was eager to recognize everyone else for their support.<\/p>\n

\"picture-6\"<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just his personality,\u201d said Shewbridge. \u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m so honored to be here.\u2019 We\u2019re doing this for him and he turns it around and says, \u2018Thank you so much for making this happen. Thank you so much for accepting me.\u2019 That speaks to my kids and to the building. Someone said that it\u2019s so sad we only get him for one year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pellerin agreed, \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing that he can make such a big impact on a school in such a short amount of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,\u201d according to a Chinese proverb. Fifth-grader Brady McPherson began a 100-mile journey months ago with a single step, and ended […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[153],"class_list":["post-5682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-kingston-elementary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5689,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5682\/revisions\/5689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}