As students ran laps in a field behind Newton Rayzor Elementary School last week, physical education instructor Lewis Hill stood by and watched, encouraging them to keep at it as he called out, “Good job!”

Panting and sweating on the 76-degree day, the students fought through any fatigue to complete laps an eighth of a mile long, stopping at times to refresh themselves with bottled water or ice chips.

The students were participating in an endurance exercise, starting runs with one lap and adding a lap onto their runs each time. By the end of the day, the students would run four continuous laps. They ran 10 laps total that day — more than a mile.

Third- through fifth-graders make up the Rayzor Runners, a fitness club with more than 70 children.

Hill leads the club, which meets on Mondays and Wednesdays after school for 45 minutes. Students participate in sprints, soccer, basketball and any exercise drills that allow them to burn calories, move and “use their bodies in a physical way,” Hill said.

Hill said many children battle with obesity, and clubs such as Rayzor Runners allow students to move.

The club also encourages students to set goals and work in small increments to reach them, Hill said. Achieving those goals can be difficult but not impossible, he said.

If students can learn that lesson, it will apply in other areas of their lives, too, Hill said.

“Our workouts are not easy,” he said. “We tax them and we stress them, and physically it’s a demanding, rigorous 45 minutes. They do the workout, and they come back when it’s time for Rayzor Runners. That’s just very impressive to me.”

The club has children with different running abilities — from those who run fast to those with no ability at all, he said.

The team trains with the hope of entering a race monthly, Hill said. So far the group has completed Denton’s Jack-O-Lantern Jog and plans to participate in the Newton Rayzor Santa Fun Run next month. The club nurtures seasoned runners, he said, and encourages those new to the sport that they are winners no matter where they finish.

Fourth-grade student Philip Smith said he hopes the Rayzor Runners will set an example for other campuses to form groups that promote healthy living.

A number of students at Newton Rayzor said they joined the group to be with friends, to get physically fit or to supplement their other extracurricular activities, such as sports.

Others said they joined because they thought it would be fun.

DRC/David Minton

Members of the Rayzor Runners club at Newton Rayzor Elementary School learn to pace themselves while running laps as physical education instructor Lewis Hill hands out wooden sticks marked with lap numberslast week.

View larger More photos Photo store

Fifth-grader Danielle Bradfield said she enjoys running and the adrenaline it gives her. She said participating in the Rayzor Runners has been “a great experience” that has helped increase her speed and taught her to pace herself.

“You get used to it. The longer you go, the faster you get,” she said. “It’s not about trying to beat someone. It’s about beating your own time and being the best you can be.”

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com .