Despite the rain, runners from across Northern California traveled to Davis for the races
By ALEX UPTON — city@theaggie.org
On Feb. 26, A Change of Pace Foundation held the 40th annual Davis Stampede marathon at Playfield Park in South Davis. Other than the marathon, there was also a 5k, 10k, half-marathon and family- and dog-friendly 2k run. Despite the rainy weather conditions, runners from across Northern California showed up for the event.
A Change of Pace Foundation is a non-profit organization that encourages a healthy lifestyle, according to its website. Based in Davis, the foundation hosts marathons in Davis and partners with events across Northern California and the West Coast, using their advanced chip technology to time events. Their mission statement is to “encourage, educate and motivate kids to inspire life-long habits towards a healthy lifestyle.”
Many local Davis families showed up for the event. James Escobedo, a sophomore from Da Vicini High School, was there to support his dad on his 53rd birthday.
“Ten years ago he was told he could never run again after he hurt his knee, but he’s powered through it and is just doing smaller marathons now,” Escobedo said. “We’re really proud of him.”
Jennifer Baker, a human resources manager, came out to Davis from Roseville to run. While she said that the California International Marathon held in Sacramento is her favorite race, Baker enjoyed the Stampede and looks forward to running it again next year, hopefully with better weather.
“It was fun except for the rain,” Baker said. “I don’t mind the rain, but I would prefer if it wasn’t [raining].”
Runners of all levels were welcome at the race. Avery Lajeunesse, a law student at UC Davis, ran the 5k after his girlfriend signed him up. He is not a runner but said he was happy to participate.
“[The race was] more difficult than I would’ve liked it to be, but I finished so that’s cool,” Lajeunesse said. “That’s all I wanted to do today.”
Alicia Rodriguez came down from Galt with her partner and his son. Rodriguez, an avid marathon runner, ran the 5k as a cool-down from her last marathon in Texas. Her partner and son ran the family 2k together.
“I’m recovering, so I wanted to hit and run the 5k to kind of get back into it,” Rodriguez said. “It was great, I’m glad I came.”
Aside from the Davis Stampede race, A Change of Pace Foundation also puts on other races throughout the year. Alexis Johnson has worked as the race registration coordinator for the company for over a year. She registers participants and manages any problems runners may come across. When talking about her favorite race to run, Johnson said, “There’s a moonlight one, and you get a beer at the end so that one’s really fun.”
A Change of Pace Foundation runs the moonlight race annually. This year it’s on July 15, and registrations are now open. The event is held at night with a post-race party that includes beer, snacks and music. More information on the race and how to register can be found on the A Change Of Pace website.
Written By: Alex Upton — city@theaggie.org
