Phys. Ed. Teacher Boosts Student with Cerebral Palsy Past Pain, Finish Line

Bob Peck isn't your typical physical education teacher.

Sure, he teaches the basics: eat well, exercise, be well. But the Oak Forest resident and Richards High School teacher puts his muscles where his mouth is. Each semester, he offers his students a chance to run a 5K or a race of their choice—with the backing of his expertise and progressive training program.

This semester, junior Kristen Nazorek decided to take him up on it. She set her sights on the , and went to Peck to begin her training. Besides the fact that she had never run before, there was one other obstacle in the training process—Nazorek has cerebral palsy. 

"I wanted to do it for myself, to prove that I could," Kristen said.

Peck and Nazorek sat down to draft a personalized, 15-week training schedule, with longer runs on the weekends and shorter sessions on weekdays, when she would be able to report her progress to Peck. On weekends, she would email Peck her updates. The program was tailor-made to her needs, including extra time for recovery from the pain associated with wearing a leg brace and ankle brace.

Peck, who has himself run half-marathons, marathons, triathlons and more, factored in all the restrictions of her condition, which also includes asthma.

"We kind of baby-stepped our way through it," Peck said.

Nazorek was never an avid runner prior to committing to the half-marathon. When the time came to take the "track" May 1, Peck ran alongside her, piping up when her spirits were low, or her right leg began tightening up.

"There were times I wanted to quit," Nazorek said, "he kept telling me it was all going to work out, just to do three miles and don't let the right leg interfere."

Peck admired Nazorek's commitment to the challenge. Along with the running program, Peck coached her to change her eating habits and nutrition.

"Here's a student that never ran," Peck said. "She wanted to take the challenge, she said her condition never stood in her way before."

Nazorek completed the race in 3 hours, 9 minutes. She wasn't quite sure what to expect afterward, and the pain was more than she anticipated.

"It's worth it," Nazorek said. "It felt really, really good, and I can't believe I did it."

She owes it all to Peck.

"It was definitely him," she said. "He'd say, 'Forget the pain.' I don't think I could have done it without him.

"The pain reminds me why I'm doing it, why I wanted to do this race."