Runners participated in half marathon, 10km, and 5km races locally and across the United States. Click here for map of participants.
The Sierra Vista Sunrise Rotary Club conducted the 8th annual “Rising Sun Run” as a virtual race for runners in Cochise County and across the US during the month of October. The Rising Sun Run raises funds for the club’s youth programs, vocational scholarships, and community and international service projects.
The Covid-19 pandemic affected our ability to safely stage this annual special event in person. As a result, the club took the unorthodox approach to put it on as a “virtual event”, but still offer the opportunity for participants to have an actual running experience and challenge.
All the standard features of an in person race took place: on line registration, race bibs, swag bag, runners technical t-shirt, and special finisher medal for half marathon participants. Runners could complete their race from October 1 through October 31 and submit results through our racing website. Swag bags were picked up in person at Salvation Army during the month of September, and out of area runners received theirs by mail. One runner who picked up his swag bag in person said, “I really enjoy this race and give you guys kudos for putting it on in spite of the pandemic.”
For runners in the greater Sierra Vista area, the Rising Sun Run committee designed special suggested race courses for each length which were available through a racing app.
We had 115 runners in locations locally and nationwide: from the state of Washington to California; from Florida to New York, and states in between. See our map! We want to thank our generous sponsors this year because their support has allowed us to pivot to a different format and conduct a fun event for all. The virtual race was exciting and accessible to runners across the nation. We raised $10,000 for our programs, which is the reason we put on the event.
We look forward to our in person race, Rising Sun Run 2021 on May 1, 2021, on our USA Track and Field Association certified courses here in Sierra Vista. Watch for our promotional information on that in the near future and look for Rising Sun Run 2021 on the web!
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