Sporting orange laces, Leo Cruz is way ahead of most ING marathoners.
All Cruz has left of the 26.2-mile distance is little more than a single mile.
"I'm pumped up and I'm ready to go," the Vineland fifth grader said.
He's joining more than 5,000 Miami-Dade middle schoolers in capping off a cumulative marathon at the hallmark Miami race this Sunday.
"I love it," he said, just finishing a practice run.
It's part of the 2013 ING Run For Something Better Program, which encourages middle schoolers to develop healthy habits.
"I've been exercising," he said. "I can do it!"
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"Shorts... sneakers!" yelled Coach Carlos Jarro at his runners, reminding them what to wear Sunday.
On the school field, "They run about half a mile every day," he said.
They've been logging miles toward a marathon since October.
Ultrarunner Dane Rauschenberg met dozens of runners at Vineland K-8 Center Friday.
He shared pointers with Cruz and his classmates, reminding him to keep his shoelaces tied.
"We hope this isn't a one and done type thing," said Rauschenberg, who ran 52 marathons in a single year. "We're hoping this is a lifelong thing so they can stick with it and combat the obesity epidemic that's out there in America."
Cruz is already hooked.
"When I'm running, I feel like I have the world," he said.
