They are either coaches who run or runners who coach.

Cross-country coach Dean Lofgren, and assistants Sean Sheil and Humberto Sanchez, run with their athletes because they believe it’s the best way to coach them.

“Running with them is the best way to experience the insight that’s required to get in the minds and bodies of the athletes,” Lofgren said. “It’s best to be out there and have the contact while running. We experience what they’re experiencing.”

Lofgren said running with the athletes helps the coaches make a greater impact on their lives than standing on the sidelines with a stopwatch.

“As coaches, we get to know the students as well as their parents, because we spend so much intimate time running with them and going through what they go through. The bonding is part from coaching and part from running.”

Sheil said, “It’s the best way to work with the kids, because some days we run hard to control the tempo.”

But the coaches like also like to run. They run every day and they run hard.

I think I understand why. A long time ago I ran cross-country and track, and was in good enough shape to run six miles in 35 minutes.

Running makes you feel great, calms your mind and lifts your spirits.

“We like it,” Sheil said. “We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t enjoy it.”

Lofgren is 46; Sheil will be 36 next month and Sanchez is still in his 20s. They never stopped running, even after graduating from college.

“Fitness is one reason, but it’s also a lifestyle,” Sheil said. “I couldn’t imagine going without it. But at some point we’ll have to make an adjustment, as we get older.”

Javier Figueroa is a freshman from Banning High School, who appreciates the coaches’ dedication.

“We respect them because they’re doing what we’re doing and going through the same pain that we are,” he said.

Cora Webber, a freshman from San Pedro, said Lofgren helped her understand running is a long-term commitment.

“Just getting through each day and feeling good from the workouts is a day to day reward here,” she said. “Dean tells us it might take a year to get in top shape, and it motivates me knowing I can get better.”

Lofgren still runs fast enough to make his own cross-country team. But he said he doesn’t really think about why he runs.

“I really don’t consider myself a runner. I just run.”