Not everybody would consider math one of the most exciting subjects in school, but it’s a good thing that there are teachers like Dr. Mark Jimenez to spice things up. Jimenez, who teaches Precalculus AB H and AP Statistics at Shadow Ridge High School, always does his best to find a way to make his classes more exciting for his students. With online learning, he has developed an effective strategy of teaching that allows him to be more productive throughout his day. Instead of teaching the same lesson over and over again, Jimenez records himself teaching the lessons and even helping to walk students through the homework. This allows him to spend more time helping students as he supervises and makes sure everybody understands what they’re working on. On top of all the work Jimenez does to teach his classes, he has also coached the cross country team at the Ridge for the last several years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he has started a club team so that many runners, whose seasons have been canceled, can still participate in races. These races are safe and follow social distancing guidelines, while still allowing many runners to race at the usual 5k distance that they would if they were running a school cross country season.

To go along with all of this, outside of his work at the school and in cross country, Jimenez is one of the owners of Red Rock Running Company, a store that sells a wide variety of running equipment and gear. RRRC often hosts different runs or events that allow runners to gather together and share experiences and stories with each other. It’s not only for runners though, as the store can help anybody in need of a comfortable pair of shoes and any exercise equipment. Running is a big part of Jimenez’s life, so it’s important to him to help other people make running their passion as well.

Cooper Fisk, junior at Shadow Ridge and one of the runners in the running league that Jimenez has started, explained, “I really appreciate the opportunity the club has provided for me to continue training and racing during the fall. It’s really great that Coach Jimenez set up this league and I’m really grateful for all the hard work he has put into the team.”

Through his teaching and coaching, Jimenez gets the opportunity to have an influence on the lives of a lot of different students and athletes. In class and out running, he tries to inspire people to work hard and improve themselves.

“Jimenez has helped encourage me to set goals and help me achieve those goals. He shows me that we are all capable of doing great things if we put our minds to it and give our all,” commented Joseph Hughes, a senior who has run cross country for the last 4 years.

Jimenez has now been running for over 1,400 days straight and definitely doesn’t show any signs of stopping. He hopes that through Red Rock Running Company and the opportunities it provides to other runners, that they will have just a few of the same amazing experiences he’s had with running.

Coach Jimenez shared that his favorite quote and motto is, “Every run is a good run.”