By Michelle Drandell
Staff Writer
Grand View Elementary School held the 21st Annual Murad Family Foundation Grand View Gator 5k on June 4 at Grand View Elementary in Manhattan Beach.
The run raised money to be donated to the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation. The Gator Run included participants of all ages and running levels, and finishers were awarded with participation medals and the top three males and females were awarded with placing medals.
“I love the community feeling that it brings out in everyone,” Grand View Principal Rhona Steinberg said. “I think the neat thing about it is that there are always a lot of current Grandview Students and their parents but a lot of our alumni [came] back.”
The course began and ended at Grandview. It looped around and followed Valley Drive, to 17th street and back up Marine Street. There were water stations all along the course and many people cheered on the runners at the finish line.
“It was very balanced, there were downhills, uphills and flats that made it more diverse and challenging,” freshman Troy Gleason said. “There wasn’t anything that I disliked about it. I think the people involved did a great job running it.”
Local businesses that sponsored the run handed out SWAG bags which included merchandise from their company which contained products such as sunscreen and snacks. The biggest sponsor was Murad, an organization that promotes healthy lifestyles, and the company donated $10,000 to MBEF. The run was also sponsored by companies including Shorewood Realtors, Grow and Chevron.
“This will be my fifth year sponsoring the gator run,” Shorewood Realtor Barret Pulver said. “It’s a great way to keep my business name out in the community and to help out the school system.”
The Gator Run also included many activities that took place before and after the run, including breakfast and an award ceremony. After the race runners received medals for either participating or placing. The fastest competitors overall were Cy Chittenden for boys and Kate Meyers for girls.
“Before the run there were very friendly stretching circles that were an easy way to bond and make friends with new people,” freshman Mary Taylor said. “Afterwards, you were given a medal and I liked that there were sponsored gifts from local companies including little snacks and other coupons.”
About 150 volunteers were needed for the preparation and setup of this race. The majority of these volunteers were parents of Grand View gators, and they directed and answered questions of the participants. The volunteers were spread out along the course as well as at the finish line.
“Some of the preparations included having to get all of the bags filled, the t-shirts organized, all the tents set up, and all of the computers hooked up,” Volunteer Whitney Stephenson said. “Most of the preparation happened last night (6/3) but many volunteers came this morning to finish setting up.”
The price for registration is $30 for youth, $35 for adults and $100 to register a team. There were about 900 runners of all ages who participated in the race which helped to generate money for the MBEF. This year they raised $35,000, which will be donated to the elementary schools in Manhattan Beach.
“Truly, although I love that we generate a large funding for MBEF, I’m more excited about the large turnout and the community feeling to be honest,” Steinberg said. “We don’t have a monetary goal, we have a goal to be successful, and success to me means lots of people out having fun.
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