2,500 runners. 26.2 miles. One goal: cross the finish line. On Sunday, February 23, 2025, the Ventura Marathon drew thousands of runners to Southern California’s scenic coastline—including four dedicated Claremont High School teachers who took on the grueling challenge.
Carolyn Lee, Brittany Carvalho, Kristin Crowell, and Dylan DiGrazia balanced months of intense training with their already demanding schedules, juggling early-morning runs, late-night grading, and time with their families. Lee, an Anatomy, Chemistry, and AP Chemistry teacher, reflected on how she, Carvalho, and Crowell pushed through the exhaustion to build their endurance—often in the dark of the night at 3:30 a.m.
“We decided we were all insane, but it was nice waking up that early to run and chit-chat with your friends,” Lee said. “And I could say I ran 14 miles before coming in to teach.”
While the trio trained together, DiGrazia, an IB Computer Science teacher and ASB Director, took a different approach for his second marathon.
“They all trained in the morning, but I have always trained late at night or in the evenings,” DiGrazia said. “So I just trained by myself, which was interesting. It is tiring, for sure, but it was fun.”
All their dedication paid off as they joined the other 2,500 marathon runners. Pushing through miles of sweat and sore muscles, while they were cheered on by spectators lining the course. Each finished impressively, clocking in at 3:28:14 (Carvalho), 3:29:28 (Crowell), 3:34:00 (Lee), and 4:53:10 (DiGrazia).
The race was a mix of joy and struggle for Ms. Carvalho, an Integrated Math 2/3, AP Pre-Calculus, and Math 160 teacher with more than a decade of training and three marathons of experience.
“It was fun and awful at the same time,” Carvalho said. “There were parts that were extremely hard and others that just reminded you why you love running.”
Race photos captured Lee smiling throughout most of the course—illustrating how she felt about her first marathon.
“I was so happy because I was delusional,” Lee said. “And none of those photos were taken between miles 23 and 26. But overall the energy was great.”
To endure the hours on the pavement, DiGrazia swapped the sound of his footsteps for music and podcasts.
“I listened to Kendrick’s album start to finish, and I was like, well, I can’t listen to it again,” DiGrazia said. “So then I listened to a podcast by Jake Johnson called, We’re Here to Help.”
The teachers, with medals around their necks and sore legs as proof of their effort, are already looking ahead. Crowell, a sophomore MYP English teacher, has wasted no time preparing for her trio’s next race—adding to the 20+ marathons she has already completed.
“I wrote the training plans already and sent it out,” Crowell said. “We are not supposed to run for 10 to 14 days. Our workouts start sometime in April and we will work down to marathon pace.”
With their sights set on the August 3rd Camarillo Marathon, Lee, Carvalho, and Crowell are now trying to ensure that all three can qualify to go to the Boston Marathon together. Meanwhile, DiGrazia is considering a new challenge.
“I want to do one more full marathon,” DiGrazia said. “And after that, maybe a half triathlon, then I’m done for a while.”
Completing the marathon was more than just crossing a finish line—it reflected the perseverance, teamwork, and discipline CHS students see from their teachers every day in class. Whether the marathon was their best performance or a mere step on the road stretching ahead of them, one thing is clear: CHS has some amazingly talented teachers on campus.
