The Read to the Summit Marathon is an eight-week reading challenge put together by librarian Margaret Sullivan and library media specialist Dr. Gregory Baum, lasting from Nov. 16 to Jan. 8. 

The marathon consists of four levels: Everest is 12 books, Kilimanjaro is eight, Denali is four and Fugi is 1,760 pages. The program is designed to help students stretch themselves by meeting reading goals in terms of books or pages. Baum said the challenge is a way for students to improve their reading skills. 

“Reading is a lifelong skill and practice that we want kids to master and build into their lives, and it’s a way to give yourself a push and get going by setting yourself a challenge,” Baum said.

Sullivan said she got the idea from a library conference and has always wanted to do it since.

“People are staying home more because of the pandemic and students have three classes this quarter instead of the normal seven, so we thought it might be a good time to try this and encourage people to read because I think people are looking for something to do in their spare time,” Sullivan said.

Sophomore Jack Gianino is participating in the Everest level, which is completing 12 books in eight weeks. Gianino said since he is doing the highest level, he is planning ahead to keep up with other schoolwork. He said he decided to join because his ALARP class was only in the first quarter, not the second, leaving him with more free time.

“Although doing the challenge is somewhat time-consuming, spending some of my day before I go to bed and taking that period of time away helps me keep up with my busy lifestyle, school, sports, and anything else I’ve been going along with throughout my days. Planning out my time beforehand and adjusting to that accordingly to this reading marathon also greatly helps with organizational skills and managing everything properly is really beneficial,” Gianino said. “I still wanted the opportunity to keep up with things of that nature [ALARP] while also reading, which I do as a casual hobby. The changed classing rules along with the chance to challenge myself during the semester, while also continuously keeping up with the separate classes that I’m in currently, seemed like a perfect idea.”