No October Surprise, OktobeRun is a Huge Success!

The results are in, the bills are all paid, the racers all recovered, and our 2ndannual RCEF OktobeRun is the story of the month!  Thanks to 1,125 runners and walkers, a small army of volunteers, and many generous sponsors, the race netted $50,000 to fund critical education programs for our students.

As well as supporting our students’ education, the race was a great success for participants. Top runners completed the 5k course in blistering times. Top male with a time of 17:04 was Erik Brown of Sunnyvale. Top female, at 18:39, was Dena Evans, parent and coach in Redwood City School District. Top speeds for the ½ marathon were logged by Peter Quinzio of San Francisco at 1:15:29 and Clifford School teacher Shannon Cody at 1:27:47, repeating her win of last year.  See full race results. Expressing his feelings on Facebook, runner Allen Lucas wrote, “Thanks for the great race! The weather and all those amazing volunteers helped make this a blast!”

Race directors Rick Hunter and Ron Talain were especially pleased by the turnout, which was an increase of 25% from last year’s inaugural run.  As Hunter commented, “We had runners from five foreign countries and 11 states. There were student runners from every one of the 16 schools in our district, many running in groups with their PE teacher or coach.”

More than 20 members of the Redwood City District Office participated, and Superintendent Jan Christensen distinguished herself by capturing first place in her age category. The Sequoia Union High School District was represented as well with a team of 60 runners from Woodside High School, dubbed the Wildcat Prowl, as well as individual runners from Sequoia High School.

Wells Fargo, San Mateo Credit Union, and many other sponsors were key to the success of the event and were widely acknowledged on race shirts and banners. Talain had nothing but praise for all the sponsors and commented, “We’re especially proud of Sequoia Healthcare District for providing 100 student scholarships for new third to eighth grade racers, encouraging even more of our kids to run.” See all our fantastic sponsors.

Like the RCEF itself, the success of OktobeRun hinged on a team of dedicated, beyond-the-call-of-duty volunteers, starting with our incredible race team. Crews of volunteers from Oracle, Redwood Shores Community Association, Sequoia High School Cross Country and Leadership Teams, Woodside High School, Monta Vista High School Octagon Club, Mz. Shirliz Transitional Living, and the City of Redwood City created a race day that ran smoothly from start to finish.

After the race, runners and fans were able to enjoy the beautiful October weather with libations, food, and music at Peninsula Oktoberfest, the official OktobeRun after party. (See photos.) Next year’s event on October 12, 2013, is already in the planning stages, so we’ll keep you posted with news as it develops. And remember, it’s never too early to start training!

Reporting by Kim Frietas, RCSD parent and race volunteer

See more pictures of OktobeRun