Sidelight: Jim Fritz

Educators do a lot of running around. But then there’s Jim Fritz, superintendent of Anthony Wayne Local School District in Whitehouse, Ohio. He figures he’s logged 18,000 miles of roadwork on foot over the past 10 years as he has completed four of the six World Major Marathons (Berlin, Boston, Chicago and New York) with intentions to run in London this month and Tokyo next March. Fritz, 52, started running because of its importance to personal wellness. A superintendent since 2010 (and AASA member for 14 years), he describes the marathon experience as “similar to the school year. You start off happy, excited and halfway through you feel you’ve accomplished something. … Mile 18 or 20 you begin to question whether you can do it. It becomes more mental than physical … Once you’ve finished, you want more.”