Sausalito Winterfest Jingle Bells Run on December 13 to benefit at-risk youth in Marin County
Registration is now open for the second Sausalito Winterfest Jingle Bell Run, a family-friendly celebration featuring a 5K race and a Kidz Fun Run on a panoramic San Francisco Bay course on Sunday morning, December 13, starting at 8:30 a.m.
Proceeds from the event will benefit at-risk youth through the Dipsea Kidz program and Sausalito on the Waterfront Foundation. Both are nonprofit 501 C3 organizations. Donations are tax deductible.
Entry fee for the Winterfest Run is $40 for adults and $25 for children under 16 for the 5K race. A $5 donation is requested for children 7 & under participating in the Kidz Fun Run, which starts at 9:15 a.m. All Kidz Fun Run finishers will receive a medal. Runners in the 5K will receive a free commemorative T-shirt and free admission to the Sausalito Lions Club post-race pancake breakfast if they register before December 1.
Race-day registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. Races will start and finish at the Spinnaker Restaurant on the waterfront. The flat downtown course will feature magnificent views of Mt. Tamalpais, Angel Island, San Francisco Bay and the San Francisco city skyline.
Barry Spitz, inducted in the Dipsea Hall of Fame last June, will be the race announcer.
Race and volunteer entry is available online at https://www.raceentry.com/race-reviews/sausalito-winterfest-jingle-bell-5k-run. For a PDF application form to mail check with entry, email timothy@dipsea.org. Checks can be made payable to the Dipsea Race Foundation, P.O. Box 10 in Mill Valley, CA 94942.
The event is part of the Sausalito Winterfest three-day weekend festival sponsored by the Sausalito on the Waterfront Foundation (www.sausalito-on-the-waterfront.org).
For more information, call (415) 335-6321 or visit www.sausalitowinterfest.com
ABOUT THE DIPSEA KIDZ PROGRAM:
Dipsea Kidz, which currently has 30 students in this year’s program, is a unique developmental program to help at-risk kids from fourth grade through middle school in Marin County improve their overall health through a structured afterschool physical fitness training, mentoring, nutritional and educational program founded by the Dipsea Race Foundation in 2011 in association with Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito. The mission of Dipsea Kidz is to use the challenge of training for cross country runs to help students develop long-term goals, improve their health, and overcome obstacles. Dipsea Kidz builds confidence, resiliency life skills, and reinforces the value and commitment and hard work. Youngsters can then draw on these values for achievement throughout their lives.
ABOUT THE DIPSEA RACE FOUNDATION:
The Dipsea Race Foundation is a charitable non-profit (501(c) 3) corporation whose mission is ”to inspire our community and beyond to support the tradition of the Dipsea Race, the maintenance of the Dipsea Trail, and the legacy for current and future generations.” It was established in 1997 to protect and promote the race and the values it represents. After a century of existence, the race has become an essential part of the community and cross-country running; the Foundation was created to preserve the race for future generations. The Dipsea Race Foundation has three main goals: to preserve the race and the trail for current and future generations, to support the entities and organizations that control the property over which the trail winds, and to encourage boys and girls from all backgrounds to appreciate and protect the Dipsea and other trails on Mt. Tam.
ABOUT THE SAUSALITO ON THE WATERFRONT FOUNDATION:
Formed in 1989 to launch the annual holiday lighted boat parade, the Sausalito on the Waterfront Foundation has evolved to creating awareness and providing hands-on opportunities for less advantaged youngsters to explore the mysteries and joys of the San Francisco Bay and Sausalito waterfront. Partnering with the Bay Model and Aquarium on the Bay, the Sausalito On The Waterfront Foundation has established educational programs and scholarships enabling students from Willow Creek Academy, San Domenico School and Tamalpais High School to attend seminars to learn about topics ranging from how tides and currents work in San Francisco Bay to lectures on the marine environment and the need to protect it. The students also were invited on various charter vessels in Sausalito to experience interpretative information on the bay, sailing and the environment. Last year, some students were rewarded with an invitation to ride aboard one of the award-winning boats in the 27th Sausalito Annual Lighted Boat Parade & Fireworks.
