When he was asked to run for a full two minutes, Rich Hibbs softly protested.
“We were doing 30-second walk-and-run intervals the prior week,” he said. “So I said to my wife, ‘This is a big jump!’”
The treasurer of the Culver City Education Foundation, a Culver City accountant, attends the free Sunday training sessions with his wife Paula at the Culver City High School track in preparation for the Screenland 5K, Feb. 26.
The Academy Awards Sunday event will be their first ever race.
Mr. Hibbs had progressed to running for 20 minutes before taking a walk-break in the weekly workouts led by professional trainer Kirsten Bell of Culver City.
Ms. Bell designed a Screenland 5K training schedule for the 70 Sunday attendees.
“I was doubtful, but the formula is working,” said Mr. Hibbs, who has added the treadmill to his workout routine at the local health club.
“Neither of us ever has run. In fact, when the training leader asked everyone at the first session what our running experiences were, Paula said, ‘I hate running.'”
Paula, Rich, and their son, Rick, who plays on the Culver City High School tennis team, attend the free social one-hour sessions, Sundays, 4 p.m., with their neighbors and friends.
“It’s good to see everybody there, enjoying themselves and getting exercise for a good cause,” said Hibbs. The Culver City Education Foundation is the major charity for the Screenland 5K.
For his New Year’s resolution, Hibbs said he is going to keep one foot in front of the other and accomplish his goal of running the entire Screenland 5K.
Screenland 5K guests will run and walk in their favorite screen star costumes past storied motion picture soundstages, dash through a soaring rainbow, follow the yellow brick road onto the Centennial Trail, and stride like a celebrity down the red carpet in a once-in-a-century 5K adventure on Academy Awards Sunday, 9 a.m., in the Heart of Screenland. To register, www.Screenland5K.com
Rich Hibbs of Culver City said his New Year’s resolution is to run the entire Screenland 5K, his first ever race. His family participates in the social one-hour Sunday training sessions at Culver High.