COOS BAY — It is 10 o’clock on a bright, spring morning at Blossom Gulch Elementary School. That means recess is over for the school’s second-grade students.

As they slowly trudge into line, some children cast longing glances back at the play structures, swings and basketball hoops.

The door to the second-grade wing hasn’t quite swung shut when a blur of bushy blond hair darts from the opposite end of the building, heading toward the gloriously green field.

Or, more accurately, the track rounding the grassy expanse.

Ian Emlet has 15 minutes to run and he doesn’t want to waste a second.

And he doesn’t.

By the time he returns to Rick Edgar’s third-grade classroom, the 9-year-old will have completed 10 laps, about two miles.

The only thing that can stop Ian is the weather, said Angie Webster, Blossom Gulch’s school nurse, who also coordinates the Laps Program.

Designed to encourage health and fitness among students, the school began the voluntary program last spring, but it really took hold this year.

Students are issued Lap cards and get them punched after every lap. Once a student completes 50 laps, he has “finished” that card, and is issued a new one.

Of the 510 students at Blossom Gulch, 276 have received at least one card. More than 100 are in the 50-mile club, meaning they have completed five cards. Another 30 are in the 100 mile club, having gone through 10.

Ian is on his 41st card.

“Ian just has a natural ability and has taken to it,” said Webster.

Webster noted that Ian is not the only one who has benefited.

“We also have a number of students who don’t get much exercise but who run laps every day,” she said. “Some realize they are looking better and feeling better.”

Webster said students set goals for themselves, which makes them want to go to school so they can keep on pace. The exercise also improves academic performance and behavior.

“It’s a win for us and a win for the kids,” she said.

A big thrill for the students came last month when Marshfield High School runners Jared Bassett, Jana Sadler and Amber Reis came to the school to run.

“They followed them like a pied piper,” Webster said. “Jared told the kids they were doing great and one of the kids said, ‘He said I was doing great!’”

Ian remembers the visit, too, though he had previously met Jared at his brother Logan’s swim meet. One of his favorite Lap cards features a picture of Jared, as well as the senior’s signature.

“I really like Jared,” Ian said. “He said to keep your pace and stuff.”

That is not a problem for Ian. He leans forward slightly when he runs, seemingly weighed down by the 41 Lap cards he carries on a lanyard hanging from his neck.

 A good number of his cards feature pictures and quotes from another famous runner who called Coos Bay home. Ian has seen the movies about Steve Prefontaine and wants to run in the race named in the Olympian’s honor.

Ian also knows Pre walked along the same hallways and classrooms that he does today.

A reporter asked, “So, do you know that Steve went...”

Before he could finish, Ian piped up, “Went to Blossom Gulch? Yeah, I know.”

Asked why he runs so much, Ian provided a simple answer.

“It’s just fun to do,” he said, his hands clutching his Lap cards, his deep-set eyes staring into the ground.

After a couple more questions, Ian appears to stumble, then bursts forward, sprinting back to class. He disappears past the far end of the building, but he’ll be back.

There is a 30-minute recess starting at noon.