Almost 400 middle school students and their families got up early on a Saturday morning to get some exercise while raising funds for their schools’ Physical Education department. The Bulldog-Spartan 5K Fun Run, held on May 19 at Baylands Park, was organized by Columbia and Sunnyvale Middle Schools. Participants paid to enter the race ($25 for adults and $10 for 17 and under) and all proceeds went toward the purchase of PE equipment for the two middle schools. Participants were rewarded for their early arrival with a beautiful morning through the park and wetlands trails.
Gloria Diaz, administrative assistant, and Gigi Swan, PE teacher, both at Columbia Middle School, founded the event in 2011, initially involving only the CMS community. Around 250 runners participated in the inaugural event, raising $2,196 for CMS’s PE department. This year, Sunnyvale Middle School partnered with CMS and the event attracted 391 participants who helped raise $3,200. The majority of runners were students; adult participants included parents, teachers, and district office staff. Ms. Diaz shared that Bret Cullen, PE teacher at CMS, was instrumental in coordinating this year’s Bulldog-Spartan 5K Fun Run.
Sponsors of the Bulldog-Spartan 5K Fun Run included Sports Basement, Sports Authority, Jamba Juice, Asics, On Your Mark Sports Store, Aqui’s, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Planet Granite, Medallion Construction, Kaiser Permanente, State Farm Santa Clara County Health Department, Pizza My Heart , Trader Joe’s and Power Bar. Sponsors donated services, prizes, snacks, and bottled water for participants.
Pam Murdock at the district office helped promote the event both this year and last year. She was instrumental in reaching out to Kaiser Permanente and Santa Clara County Health Department to support the event.
The next Bulldog-Spartan 5K Fun Run is planned for October 2013. Ms Diaz will work on increasing participation through outreach to all district elementary schools and staff members at each school in the district, as well as Fremont and Homestead High Schools. See you at the event in 2013!
Article by Nina Wong-Dobkin with assistance from Gloria Diaz
