Community Corner

Registration Extended: Pathways Trail Run Turns 10

From its start with sabotaged routes, to a community-wide event, complete with jog strollers, the Los Altos Hills Pathways run has thrived.

Are you going to the Pathways Run? Be sure to wear a flower in your hair.

At age 10, the Pathways Run has become an established spring rite, a celebration of the breath-taking beauty in our midst that seduced writer Wallace Stegner and begat groups like the Committee for Green Foothills.

"What we're mostly trying to do is to show off the beautiful assets we have," said Mayor Ginger Summit. She paused.

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Then added: "And also show that we can get along and have fun together."

The birth of the run, indeed, was to do just that, right after the so-called "civil war" over the existence of the pathways themselves. After a town-wide referendum effectively settled the question of whether to dismantle of the pathways system, resident Scott Vanderlip, (and then-Pathways Committee chair) thought people should see for themselves the beauty and primacy of the equestrian and school childrens' trails that have historically connected neighborhoods separated by long, twisting roads and open orchard and pasture.

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The first year, they held a 1-mile kids' run and a 5-kilometer race. That first year,  signs and route markers were sabotaged by those who didn't want to see the run take place, Vanderlip said. Volunteers found out in time and scrambled to re-mark the route so runners didn't get lost.

In later years, they added a 10K race. With 1-mile, 5-K and 10-K routes to choose from, Vanderlip sees everyone from seasoned trail runners to kindergartners, to families hitting the hillsides piloting sturdy-wheeled jog-stollers.

"It's in a very different place now," said Summit, referring the acceptance of the run. Residents who don't run volunteer at the water stations and help with the registration, said the mayor, who has done a few turns registering runners herself.

Each year has been distinct. There was the year of the late rains where the mud was so bad Vanderlip had to buy 15 bales of hay to make sure feet didn't get stuck as runners ran through the muck. There was the "Runaway Bride" year, where runners donned bridal veils mimicking the 1998 movie and the real-life case of Jennifer Wilbanks, whose disappearance before her April wedding—and  dramatic reappearance—transfixed the country, just days before the 2005 Pathways race.

And this year, with the Sixties as the theme, and the title "Love to Run," Vanderlip plans to don some tie-dye, and invite others to get their 1967 Summer-of-Love groove on. Bell-bottomed running pants, anyone?

Vanderlip is following a new trend in trail runs by scaling back the focus  on winners and several place finishes. This year each race will only be 1st place awards in both mens and women's categories, and they're saving a little surprise for the other 98 percent of the people who came out to participate.

"The emphasis is to get people out who just love to run," he said.

They'll be rewarded by green hillsides and poppies. It includes some spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay on one side of Byrne Preserve, and Black Mountain on the other. "It really features, I think, Byrne preserve, which is so gorgeous," Mayor Summit said.

"My whole thing I want to get away from the idea that we're exclusive," Summit added.

"We all have something to offer, and we all need each other. Los Altos Hills  has things it can contribute, too. This is one of them."

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Organizers have extended to Monday the advance registration deadline for the 10th Annual Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk.  There is day-of-race registration, though race T-shirts may not be sufficient. The race begins and ends at the Westwind Community Barn.


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