Schools

Unity In The Community Run Inspires Young Athletes

Nearly 800 race participants took to the Lake Elsinore levee for Saturday's event.

Hundreds of families turned out at The Diamond Saturday morning for an experience unique to Lake Elsinore: A community run on the levee.

The event was the 11th annual Unity In The Community 5K/10K Run/Walk & Children’s Fun Run, a joint collaboration between the City of Lake Elsinore, the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, dozens of volunteers and sponsors, and a wealth of health-minded families.

Nearly 800 race participants took to the Lake Elsinore levee for the event. The Soto, Salazar and Batras families turned out together – the kids and moms ran the 5K, the dads took on the more challenging 10K.

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“It’s a fun event,” they all said.

That’s what Maureen Foster Davis likes to hear. As recreation supervisor for the City of Lake Elsinore’s Parks and Recreation department, Foster Davis served as an event coordinator Saturday. She said the Unity In The Community is truly a local experience designed to promote physical fitness among students and their parents.

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“This is about getting kids excited about running,” she said. “It started as a community race put on by the school district and the water district. Then the city got involved.”

Although Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District is no longer a Unity In The Community organizer, the district, along with more than 25 local businesses and organizations, sponsored this year’s event. Additionally, 60 volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and approximately 20 Elsinore High School student volunteers pitched in.

Foster Davis said one person in particular has helped spur interest in running among local school kids. Tisha Trinh, a third-grade teacher at Machado Elementary School in Lake Elsinore, is partly responsible for the craze, according to Foster Davis.

Indeed, the remarkably fit Trinh ran with nearly 30 of her students in the event’s 5K Saturday.

How did she inspire them to get up at the crack of dawn and forego Saturday morning cartoons?

“I run on my lunch hour. When I first started I would have a line of kids who wanted to go with me, so I decided to start a running club,” Trinh explained. “The kids want to do it.”

Machado’s club formed nearly eight years ago and was a first in the district. Now seven schools across the LEUSD have clubs, Trinh and Foster Davis said.

“There’s a movement on -- we want the kids to see the benefits of having a healthy lifestyle,” Foster Davis said. “I think the secret is you have to get them excited at school.”

Trinh added that parent involvement is key.

“I think the point is you get out there and run with them,” she said.

Trinh said she continues to fundraise to keep her club going, and recently held a bingo night to raise money for kids who don’t have running shoes.

“One kid showed up with holes in his shoes, so I went out to Walmart and bought 20 pairs (of running shoes) for the kids,” she said.

Trinh was also behind the fundraising effort that saw a running track installed at Machado, according to Foster Davis.

As a testament to the enthusiam Trinh is inspiring for her sport, one of her 8-year-old runners took first place in the 5K for his age bracket Saturday. Proudly holding his medal, he said he’s been running since he was 5.

“This is definitely what it’s all about,” said Lake Elsinore Mayor Pro Tem Daryl Hickman. “The kids.”

Hickman and his wife, Amy, were event sponsors and purchased 150 medals for Saturday’s winners.

“I’ve been buying the medals for about five years. This is a great event,” the council member said, noting that his wife took first place in her age bracket Saturday.

Foster Davis said all funds raised during the Unity In The Community go back to the event. As part of the effort, cash awards are given to the schools that have the most student and parent participation.


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