The running club raises money for low-income students in City Heights and prepares for the weekend’s 5K race
the City Heights Runners club brings together students from colleges and high schools in the town.
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Club co-captain and Crawford High School senior Vanessa Alvarez describes it as a family where runners can share cultures, languages and foods.
“Most of the team members speak different languages, but we can usually communicate because we speak more than one language; it’s not really like a barrier,” Alvarez said. “Usually we hold banquets at the end of each season, so we can try each other’s dishes and share our culture.”
Jacob Aere
The club motivates students like team captain Joseph-Blue Sun, who is also a senior at Crawford High School. He will soon be the first in his family to go to university.
“We went to a running camp and we went around Santa Cruz. Immediately I fell in love with Santa Cruz and the university,” Sun said. “You could say that running affected me going to college and going to Santa Cruz.”
The running club raises money for low-income students in City Heights and prepares for the weekend’s 5K race
Coach Tlaloc Venancio-Mancilla said money is needed to create these opportunities for low-income students.
“Running shoes are very expensive, so a lot of kids in the neighborhood can’t afford them,” he said. “Myself, when I was in high school, I couldn’t afford it. I was going to the parks… and I was going to pick up cans to buy my running shoes.
Jacob Aere
Venancio-Mancilla ended up getting a scholarship to race in college, but he wants to create a smoother road to success for the teenagers he coaches.
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One of the ways City Heights Runners fulfills this mission is to raise money for low-income student-athletes through Urban life9th Annual City Heights Runners 5K and Kid’s Fun Run.
“This is more than a fundraiser for us – it’s starting to look like a City Heights community event,” said City Heights Runners coach and co-founder Chris Brewster.
Jacob Aere
The organization has been running the 5K race for nearly a decade, with a hiatus in 2021 due to the pandemic.
The event returns this Saturday to North Chollas Community Park, and Brewster is thrilled to have it back.
“We have a lot of school-aged kids in City Heights who come to do the Fun Run, people from the City Heights community who come year after year,” Brewster said.
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Online registration is open for the 5K run until midnight Friday.
There will also be race day registration at the event from 7 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. on Saturday.