The Great Goblin Escape Surpassed All Expectations!
Kudos to Bruce Bean, Peter Webb, and Bill Walters for all their hard work in organizing this year's highly successful Fun Run! Their efforts paid off with over $30,000 raised from our generous sponsors in support of this year's college scholarship fund. Over 180 runners, walkers, strollers, and dogs participated!
Thanks also to Dave Bennett, Anne Campbell, Chris Eckert, Mike Fadelli, Claudia Ferguson, Arlene Kace, Rod Linhares, Jeff Lowenstein, Laura Porter, Steve Parker, Mike Peterson, Melissa Platte, Joan Rosas, Angel Saunders, Erin Sinclair, and Sue Winks for all their help on Sunday morning. These stalwart Rotarians arrived at sunrise to set up the course, organize registration, and prepare for goodie bag & t-shirt distribution. Also a special shout out to San Mateo Vice Mayor Lisa Diaz-Nash and Club President-Elect Joan Rosas who both completed the course & crossed the finish line with flair!
A bit of rain fell off & on throughout the morning, but abundant sunshine and several magnificent rainbows ruled the day. A good time was had by all!
Claudia Ferguson provides a great glimpse of the refreshment table that greeted participants as they arrived. Definitely a crowd pleaser! Thanks to Mike Peterson who arranged for the donuts and Laura Porter & Byrd's Filling Station who provided the bananas & coffee.
How often does Peter Webb have a rainbow over his shoulder? Peter and Rod Linhares carefully laid out the race course, complete with customized signs clearly delineating the
5 K & 10 K courses. Wonder if Peter found a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow?
What would a Fun Run be without Bruce & Rod decked out in their Halloween attire? They make quite the dynamic duo as they pose in front of the Rotary tent. All they need is a red carpet to complete the photo opportunity!
Angel Saunders & Jeff Lowenstein used the early morning sunshine to get the t-shirts ready for eager race participants. This year's shirt is definitely a collector's item - includes not only the regular race logo, but also the Centennial logo. Want one? Let Bill Walters know - they cost $20 & support our scholarship program.
Chris Eckert, AKA Mr. San Mateo, kept busy throughout the race as he helped direct the
10 K racers to their course and the 5 K racers to the finish line.
Chris swung that red flag around with great vigor. Probably felt as though he'd run the race, too, by the time the last racer finished.
Looks as though these two are finishing their race with quite a kick!
Some participants came in costume, including this set of parents who came in Where's Waldo? attire. Wonder if the baby in the stroller is Waldo? Whatever his name, he completed the entire race, thanks to his parents who pushed him vigorously
over the finish line. Maybe next year he'll be old enough to run the race himself?
Erin Thomas set the fashion bar high! She ran her race elegantly decked out in yellow racing attire, including elbow length white gloves! Posting a 27:47 finish time in the 5 K, Erin placed 5th in the Women's Division. She also won a prize in the raffle. Definitely her lucky day!
Andrew Little won the Men's 10 K, running
wire-to-wire to victory.
He finished the course in 38:07, almost 3 minutes faster than the 2nd place finisher!
When he's not competing in Fun Runs, Andrew is a member of the Serra Padre Cross-Country team.
Erica Cabral won the Women's 10 K and beamed with satisfaction as she received her award for coming in first! She ran the 10K in the speedy time of 46:34. From this photo, it looks as though she could easily run the race again!
A group portrait while awaiting the arrival of the runners!
