"If you're gonna run, run for a reason"

We are a group of people who love to run and have a heart for the kids in the inner-city. We striving to rally 450 runners to run with us in the CIM on behalf of the kids at Oak Ridge Elementary in Oak Park.

Imagine, running on behalf of an inner-city child and raising awareness and funding to secure, academic supplies, and support, health care enrollment, enhanced nutrition, and after-school fitness programming.

Oak Ridge Elementary is situated in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Northern California. Oak Park is known for its prostitution rings, drug trafficking and homicides. We have placed ourselves in the middle of the madness to help build a community from the inside out. We are transforming Oak Ridge Elementary to be the hub, heart and soul of the community.

We have been on the Oak Ridge Elementary campus for 5 years now. Since arriving we have:

* Build a new teacher's lounge
* Launched a literacy program
* Launched a backpack program (sending EVERY child home, EVERY Friday with a bag full of food)
* Helped to raise funds which have assisted in raising test scores.
* Enrolled over 87% of the children in health care programs (when we arrived less than 12% were enrolled)
* Started an after-school running program
* Taken 20 of the run club kids on an "I've Never Trip" to Oregon where they saw the ocean, visited another state, visited a university, visited the Nike headquarters, were given their first pair of Nike's, stayed at a hotel and saw the ocean!
* In the process of launching a Be Green organic garden for the community
* In the process of opening a free drop-in health clinic for the community
* Partnered with the John Monsoor and the California International Marathon to be their non-profit organization
* Received so much support from the community and beyond.. including Mayor Kevin Johnson, John Monsoor, Pete Caroll, Fleet Feet, Running Zone, Nutri-sport, Sacramento Food Bank, etc, etc