The event, hosted by A Change of Pace, is an annual opportunity for active community involvement
By RACHEL GAUER — features@theaggie.org
On Feb. 23, community members and students alike laced up their sneakers and hit the streets of Davis for the annual Davis Stampede race, which offers a 2k, 5k, 10k and a half marathon for those looking to run in the community. Hosted by local Davis organization A Change of Pace, the event began in 1983 and strives to bring community members and students together for the shared goal of running and promoting healthy lifestyle practices.
All routes began at Playfields Park in South Davis and brought runners through local neighborhoods, sections of the Greenbelt and, for half-marathon runners, up north along Wildhorse Golf Club.
Maya Miramontes, a volunteer for A Change of Pace and site coordinator, commented on the advantages of exploring the city through the event.
“You get to run all around Davis and maybe appreciate some of the parts of the Greenbelt you don’t normally see or the neighborhoods you never seem to cross through,” Miramontes said. “It gives even the most local people the opportunity to appreciate some of the areas that they may not be completely familiar with.”
Miramontes, a local resident herself, is the daughter of A Change of Pace founders, Dave and Jen Miramontes, who established the company in 1987 and acquired the Davis Stampede event just years later.
The organization hosts and coordinates additional races in town and in the greater Sacramento region, including the annual Davis Turkey Trot in November and The Lucky Run in March.
Miramontes explained the organization’s goal for the events, which she summarized as striving to support health and wellness in the community.
“We put these events on to promote healthy and active lives,” Miramontes said. “We want to let people have these events to have a fun activity they can do that gets them outside and gets them moving while being able to bring [their] friends and family.”
Miramontes also described her personal history with the organization, which began through her family’s ownership and evolved to a more active role in its operations.
“All throughout middle school and high school, I was always volunteering and helping at these events, but it wasn’t about four years ago that I started to take on a bigger role in the company,” Miramontes said. “I’ve grown up with this team, and I love working with them. It’s been my whole life; I have always known this company.”
Sam Wu, a fourth-year physics major, and Sam Costello, a third-year aerospace science and engineering and mechanical engineering double major, first registered for the Davis Stampede two years ago, both racing the 5k event. Now, the two have made a tradition out of the event: Wu explained that he and Costello, who are both part of the Cross Country, Track, and Field Club at UC Davis, have participated in the event together every year since.
“We did the 5k my first year, 10k last year and now doing the half marathon this year,” Wu said. “We make a thing out of it every year.”
Costello was injured prior to the race this year and was unable to run with Wu as planned. However, he commented on the experience of participating in the two prior events, highlighting the community-building element of the race.
“It’s as much an opportunity to race as it is for people to come together,” Costello said. “Sharing a common interest and a common goal is awesome. Any sort of activity that people do recreationally, if you can manage to make it an official event within the community, I think [is] a great way to bring people together.”
Wu discussed the popularity of the event within the community, highlighting the vivacious nature of a highly populated race.
“It’s always surprising to me how many people show up and do it — there are hundreds of people in each race,” Wu said. “Sometimes there is a little issue trying to get around people and it can be a little crazy, but I think that’s what makes this race so much fun. There are so many other people doing it.”
Costello compared the event to others he has been involved in and highlighted the appeal of the relaxed nature fostered through the community-based event.
“I’ve done competitive racing in high school through cross country and track and even in the club here,” Costello said. “Sometimes you can feel that people are nervous and there’s a weird vibe — with community races like this, it’s a lot more relaxed and everyone seems to be there to have fun.”
Miramontes commented on promoting local businesses through the event, highlighting several sponsors of the event that she feels promote active lifestyles within the Davis community. Some of the sponsors include Orangetheory Fitness, which will be opening a location in Downtown Davis this year, and Milestones Movement Therapy, which is partnering with a new wellness spa center to open in town, Tulē.
“We want to help support these new and expanding businesses coming into our community and give them a little jumpstart to reach the community [at] these events,” Miramontes said.
A Change of Pace’s next event is The Lucky Run, which will take place on March 29 and offers a 5k, 7k, 10k and a “Fun Run” for children. The high volume of participants at Sunday’s race served as an indicator that the Davis population strives to foster a community that emphasizes active recreation and local togetherness.
Written by: Rachel Gauer — features@theaggie.org
