Village Runner’s Annual 4th of July 5K Run/Walk Celebrates 20th Anniversary
By Don Franken
The 4th of July 5K Run/Community Walk and Firecracker Dash celebrates its 20thanniversary this year. The race takes place on America’s birthday at 8 a.m. at Riviera Village in Redondo Beach, CA. The race has grown from humble beginnings of a few hundred runners to one of the largest races here in Southern California, with 4,000 runners expected for the start of the race.
There will be a variety of special celebrations this year commemorating the 20th anniversary. These include inviting the previous 20 male and female winners of the 4thof July race and bringing them up to the stage for a special salute to them. There will also be a celebration at the race for any runners who have run each of the twenty editions of the event. Another 20th anniversary feature will be an expanded costume contest where people can dress in their favorite red, white, and blue 4th of July outfits, with winners winning gift certificates to Village Runner stores.
“The course for the event is fast, flat, and scenic,” stated race director Mike Ward. “Runners come here to set PR’s in our event. Put on your most fun 4th of July outfit and celebrate by running the race and coming to our post event party,” stated Ward. Ward, the race founder, owns the Village Runner stores and is a longtime competitive runner. “I started this race to fill a void here in the South Bay, after the old Torrance 4th of July race was canceled. My running store was in Riviera Village, so it seemed a perfect place for us to start and finish the race. It has now grown and my goal is to make this the highest quality running event around and the most fun 4th of July party in the area.”
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Redondo Beach Firefighters Association and local area schools. Leading up to the race, weekly training runs and running socials will be held. All participants will receive a 4th of July Run T-shirt. There will be chip timing, age division awards and cash prizes to the top three overall male and female runners in the 5K run. Early Registration Prices for adults and kids wanting to run the 5K will be $30 and the kids dash will be $25. The dash distances are 1/4 mile for ages 6-12 and a short sprint for ages 4 to 5. Kids wanting to run both the 5K and Kids’ Dash will need to register for both events as they are individually timed. Packet pick-up will be on July 3rd, the day before the race, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Village Runner store in Redondo Beach. For additional information and registration, please visit www.villagerunner.com
Online Registration Available Here:
https://racewire.com/register.php?id=2771
Note to club runners: This is a USATF sanctioned and certified course. Certification number is CA97038RS
This is an approximate map for race course directions:
View Larger Map
