The Goleta Education Foundation will host its fourth annual 4-Miler Run/Walk fundraiser on Sunday.
The event will benefit music and physical education programs for the 3,500 students who attend Goleta elementary schools.
“Each year we give grants for instrumental music instruction to schools for enhanced programs,” said Dan Cooperman, assistant superintendent of instructional services. “We’re hoping for 300 runners and walkers, with at least 100 students.”
Cooperman said funding from the event also sponsors “professional development training” for P.E. instructors who wish to attend the annual Elementary Physical Education Workshop at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.
Sunday morning’s four-mile walk/run begins at the district office and will loop around Lake Los Carneros, ending with a downhill stretch. The race begins at 8:30 a.m., with a one-mile Kids Fun Run beginning at 9:45 a.m.
The GEF encourages athletes of all levels, including those who choose to walk all or part of the course, to participate. For more serious runners, the event is an official Santa Barbara Athletic Association Grand Prix Race, and awards will be given in several age divisions.
The event also will feature family-friendly activities and live entertainment at the GUSD office parking lot, including the Goleta Valley Junior High Jazz Band, directed by music instructor Jeff Peterson.
“We’ll have the Music Van. The kids can play different musical instruments,” Cooperman said. “In past years, we’ve had a marine touch tank, face painting and one year we had a fire engine.”
The cost for 4-Miler participants is $20 by Thursday, then it’s $30. Kids Fun Run is $5 by Thursday and $10 after, with an additional $5 for a T-shirt.
Fruit and drinks will be provided at the race finish for all participants, as well as awards for the first three finishers in each age division, separated by gender. The GUSD office is at 401 North Fairview Ave. in Goleta. Racers should show up early to sign up, put on sunscreen and stretch.
Click here for more information.
Noozhawk intern Mollie Helmuth can be reached at mhelmuth@noozhawk.com.