The first annual 5k Race on the Base was held on March 9th at the March Field Park in Moreno Valley. The Race on the Base Health Fair was put on by the Moreno Valley Parks and Recreation Department with the help and partnership of the city’s military base and organization. The event included a 5k run that included on and off-road running. The off-road running had off trail mud and dirt hills for the participants to run through and over. The 5k run welcomed inexperienced as well as experienced marathon runners to improve and work on their individual timing.
The race included a 1k Kids Fun Run that began after the morning 5k run. The event awarded individual prizes of t-shirts and medals to the winners of the different age divisions. Alongside the rewards given to the winners there were also complimentary goodie bags and water bottles given to runners by the event sponsor, Pacheco’s Tires and Wheels. There were 13 plus age divisions in the 5k run that began with the ages of 10 and up. Each runner that participated was timed individually by the bibs that they were given by a timing company that recorded the start and end of the run. The bib carries a chip that turns on and off depending when they cross the starting line. The divisions for the race are also sorted and timed depending on the gender of the runner in order to gain a more accurate time for the participants.
The races alone are not focused on promoting solely the importance of quickness but meant to encourage all age groups of runners. The event was made possible by the Parks and Community Services Director Patti Solano who has a great interest in the city’s health and fitness. Patti Solano mentioned the essential aspect of getting all age groups of runners interested; “it’s always fun to bring kids into fitness when they’re young,” which is the reason for the creation of the 1k fun run. The event encourages all ages to participate in either race whether they are running or walking. The idea of the race is to get out and stay active instead of aiming to win first place in the race.
The health fair was aimed at providing information to the participants and the public about fitness including community classes that promote exercise and diet. The information booths that were held inside of the park are full of events and places that support the healthy aspects of the community such as gyms and spas. The community events promoting fitness are activities such as free hikes, dance lessons and even martial art classes for the city. Director Patti Solano made it a mission to inspire the City of Moreno Valley with running because it has never held a 5k run before. Solano also mentions that the uniqueness of the off-road trail is one that differs from other races that are held in the area. There are steps that are built into the big hills that runners are running around as well as roads that twist and turn in the fields. The reasoning for the unique trail is to get people excited to exercise as well as experience new ways to run.
The Parks department hopes that the health festival will become an annual event; “we’re really excited about this year, sometimes it is difficult to get them started at first but we are hoping word of mouth afterwards because of the unique course” states Director Solano. The various information booths, food vendors and nature aspect of the base race made the health festival a humble hit for fitness in the Moreno Valley community.