The District 95 Educational Foundation held their second annual 5K and one mile fun run event Sunday. The fun run, held at Heritage Oaks Community Center, brought in over 190 runners.
“I see it as a fun community event where our families can come together to exercise and socialize while raising a little money to benefit the students in District 95,” Mike Egan, District 95 superintendent, said.
The District 95 Educational Foundation sponsored the event. The Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps gather and distribute resources throughout the district to enhance, enrich, and supplement instructional opportunities. The organization also raises money for clubs like the Young Entrepreneur’s Academy, and projects like the eSchool home module and the Smart School Bright Futures.
The Foundation brought in volunteers from National Honors Society, who helped guide runners through the course. Volunteers and Foundation members agree the run has many purposes.
“We serve a dual purpose to promote fitness, but this has also turned into a big family event,” said Nancy Coleman, District 95 Education Foundation fun run co-event coordinator.
The Foundation members believe that bringing the community together is one of the most important aspects of the race.
“We have whole families participating, and it’s really just a fun way for the district to come together, and we have quite a few staff members here today,” said Lisa Warren, District 95 Educational Foundation fun run co-event coordinator.
With almost 200 runners entering, this year’s run brought in about 50 more entries than last year. Returning runners like Ryan Rubenstein, assistant principal for student activities and facilities, say the fun run keeps getting better every year.
“There are more runners here than last year,” Rubenstein said, “which to me shows an improvement of the quality of the run, and people are trying to get out there to help the district.”
Rubenstein ran in the event with his family and said it is a great way to promote fitness in District 95.
“I ran [in] this event for fitness and to support the district. But it’s a lot of fun, it’s a good family event, and it gets the community out here,” Rubenstein said.
Rubenstein was not worried about his time, and in fact he had a slower time this year than last year. Many runners in this event believe the focus on this run is not about winning.
“We do have awards, but I don’t think that’s the focus,” Warren said. “We just care more about having fun.”
According to event coordinators and runners alike, they agree the event has a loose atmosphere that allows for a lot of fun while raising money for a good cause.
“We enjoy promoting wellness as well as promoting the Foundation,” Coleman said. “This is the one event we have every year where we have parents, teachers, and students come together. It just works really well.”