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He can tie his shoes more comfortably. Getting dressed is not a chore anymore and his joints, well, they just work so much better.

When you ask East High School Principal Paul Sagers how he lost nearly 100 pounds in the last seven months, he points to a crowd of students.

"I know I would have not been able to do it. The reason why I might make a hundred [pounds] is because of them," Sagers said. "What is cool about this, is you see all the students who are involved. It has brought the whole school together as one."

Sagers celebrated his 95-pound weight loss along with 350 of his students with a one-mile run and walk race Wednesday at the East High track. What he walked in 15 minutes last year, he did in 10 1/2 minutes Wednesday.

Seven months ago at the same track, a 336-pound Sagers vowed to shed 100 pounds from his 6-foot frame and asked the school to join him.

PTA staff heard about Sagers weight-loss goal during his interview for the principal job and decided to help.

"I thought that would be a fun fitness initiative," said Katy Christiansen of the East PTA and one of the organizers of the challenge. "I thought we can have a run at the beginning of the year and encourage the kids to work out and get fit like Dr. Sagers."

The fitness challenge turned into a schoolwide event. Students were given logs to track their goals of 100 workouts during the year. Sagers and other school staff who joined the challenge reported their progress every couple of weeks during assembly weigh-ins.

"We are so proud of Dr. Sagers," Christiansen said. "This is his first year as our principal and he has been a great asset to the school."

Sagers lost an average of 3 1/2 to 4 pounds every week by eating a more healthy diet and running three to four miles every morning. He said he wanted to model a healthy lifestyle for students and discourage crash diets.

His last weigh-in is Friday, but technically he has until Wednesday, graduation day, to meet his 100-pound goal. From that point, the challenge will be to keep off the weight and reach his ultimate goal of weighing 199 pounds by the start of the 2008-09 school year.

"What I've tried to communicate to students when I talk to them is that everyone needs to set a goal, whatever it is, then calibrate it if you need to. Make it lofty but also make it achievable and work everyday to reach it," Sagers said.

Students who completed the run in under 8:30 minutes and the walk in less than 13:30 minutes received a free pass to Raging Waters.

J.P. Massaro, an East senior, beat Sagers last year. This year, Sagers beat him by 35 seconds.

"It's amazing. It shows that he works hard, " said Martin Young, also a senior. "If he can do it, anybody can do it."