For the past 10 years, the Park City community has named Running with Ed as the town’s best fundraiser, according to The Park Record’s Park City’s Best magazine.
So, who is Ed? The Park City Education Foundation, of course.
Each year, the nonprofit, which works in partnership with the Park City School District to ensure students in kindergarten through 12th grade and beyond have the resources they need to succeed, hosts the community-wide event toward the end of the school year.
This year’s run is scheduled for May 16, and registration is now open, said Jennifer Billow, the foundation’s vice president of advancement.
“This is our biggest fundraiser, regarding the number of participants,” she said. “Our Red Apple Gala (in autumn) is our biggest in terms of dollars.”
Once Running with Ed participants register, they can choose whether or not to set up their own fundraising page, which is optional, Billow said.
“Our fundraising goal is $300,000, and that’s pretty big,” she said. “We always have a stretch goal because the event happens at the end of the school year. So this is kind of the last chance we have to raise money for next year.”
Running With Ed raises funds for the Park City Education Foundation’s classroom and express grants, Billow said.
“There are grants that teachers and educators ask for every year, and their applications have already been turned in,” she said.
Many of the things these grants fun are already coming into fruition, Billow said.
“The high school debate team was state champion this year, and they’re sending kids to nationals this summer, and the Technology Student Association had one of its best showing at state competition, so they’re sending several students to nationals as well,” she said. “We help support those programs through donor funds, and we help support students who need help traveling to those competitions. Because you don’t know until March or April that you’re confirmed to go, and it’s hard to raise money at the last minute.”
During Running with Ed, individual participants and teams of up to eight people can choose to run or walk the entire 28.6-mile relay course that starts at the Basin Recreation Fieldhouse at Kimball Junction. Or they can choose to run one or more of its eight legs, whose exchanges begin at different schools or points in Park City, Billow said.
The exchanges this year are as follows:
- Leg 1: 4.2 miles — Basin Recreation Field house to Jeremy Ranch Elementary
- Leg 2: 1.6 miles — Jeremy Ranch Elementary to Ecker Hill Middle School
- Leg 3: 3.5 miles — Ecker Hill Middle School to the Utah Olympic Park Plaza
- Leg 4: 5.7 miles — Utah Olympic Park Plaza to Parley’s Park Elementary School (Note that Leg 4 may change depending on trail conditions.)
- Leg 5: 5 miles — Parley’s Park Elementary School to PCMR
- Leg 6: 1.8 miles — PCMR to McPolin Elementary School
- Leg 7: 4.4 miles — McPolin Elementary School to Trailside Elementary School (Note that Leg 7 may also change depending on trail conditions in Round Valley.)
- Leg 8: 2.4 miles — Trailside Elementary School to Basin Recreation Fieldhouse
“The route circles Park City, so it goes past all six schools,” she said. “There isn’t a start exchange at the high school this year because they are under construction at Dozier Field.”
In place of Park City High School exchange, organizers brought back an old leg between Parley’s Park Elementary School and Park City Mountain’s First Time parking lot that hasn’t been run since the coronavirus, Billow said.
“When we came back from COVID, we didn’t do it because we had to ask a business to do the exchange, and that was a lot to ask at the time,” she said. “Since Dozier is under construction, we decided to bring the leg back, and Momentous will put on that exchange.”
This year also marks the return of the Utah Olympic Park stairs — Leg 4, Billow said.
“Of course, you can take a chairlift if you choose, and it’s a gorgeous view as you ride up,” she said. “But most people I know want to run all 700-and-something steps. Plus, Skullcandy is the sponsor for the exchange, so it will be a lot of fun.”
Typically an average of 200 Park City School District educators also run the race, Billow said.
“They get to run for free, thanks to another sponsor, VUE Christie’s International Real Estate,” she said. “VUE covers the educators’ registration, but a lot of those teachers sign up to raise funds, and those funds come right back to the classroom. And I’ll tell you when teachers are out there running the course, it inspires them to see how the community supports them and the school district.”
The start and finish line is at the Basin Recreation Fieldhouse, but start times for each leg will be emailed to team captains on May 11. Also, check-in is 30 minutes before the start times, or 45 minutes if runners haven’t picked up their packets.
“We do hear people say, ‘I’m not a runner,’ so we let them know there is a super-short leg between Jeremy Ranch Elementary School and Ecker Hill Middle School you don’t have to run,” Billow said. “You can just walk that and then head over to the finish party.”
The finish party runs from noon-3 p.m. at the fieldhouse, Billow said.
“That is so much fun,” she said. “We have music. We have lunch provided by Westgate Resort and Spa and Park City Brewing provides adult beverages. And we’ll have face painting and bouncehouses for the kids.”
Auntie Em’s also supplies handmade cookies for dessert, according to Billow.
“That’s so generous because the shop is located on Kearns Blvd., and the construction is hurting those businesses around there,” she said. “So we want to give a shout out to (owner Emily Burney) and tell people to stop by for a pie.”
Prizes will also be handed out during the party, Billow said.
“One of the big things that gets revealed is Best Costume, which is very important in Park City, and we encourage everyone to wear a costume,” she said. “Another prize is for the Best Exchange among the schools, and there is a huge competition and pride for who wins that trophy.”
Park City Mountain will also announce the Park City Mountain Grants, which are awarded to the school that has the highest participation percentage of people running in the race, Billow said.
“When you register, you can pick the school you want for your grant point,” she said. “Those points are added up, and Park City Mountain will give $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 that will go directly to the winning schools.”
Finally, the event will announce the Top Fundraisers prizes, Billow said.
“Our Top 20 fundraisers get to pick from amazing prizes that are provided by our sponsors and generous businesses,” she said. “When a prize is handed out, there’s a lot of jostling, and sometimes people will trade. It’s a lot of fun.”
The finish-line party is open to all registrants, and nonrunners can also join for $10 per person or $25 for a family, according to Billow.
While the finish-line party is a great way for the community to come together and celebrate education, Billow knows how busy local residents are at this time of the year.
“There are so many activities that people are doing and aren’t able to commit a whole day to Running with Ed,” she said. “So, we encourage people to pick the legs they want to run. If they can only run one leg during the run, that’s great. You can run your leg and then head off to the next thing you need to. You’re still supporting the schools and Park City Education Foundation.”
Billow also thanked Park City High School for not holding prom that day.
“We are grateful for that because a lot of the high school kids will volunteer for Running with Ed,” she said. “In fact, we still are in need of volunteers. So, people who want to volunteer can visit the website and click on (the) volunteer tab to see what’s available.”
Billow knows the Park City community wants the local schools to be the best in the state and provide students with the best access to resources.
“Running with Ed is a huge piece of that,” she said. “This is why we do the race.”
Running with Ed
- When: Saturday, May 16
- Where: Basine Recreation Fieldhouse, 1388 Center Drive
- Registration: runningwithed.com
- Web: pcef4kids.org