Fourth of July 5K Benefits El Toro High

Since its inception, the Lake Forest Firecracker 5K Run/Walk has grown by leaps and bounds, organizers say.

The number of participants has climbed from about 100 to as many as 1,200 runners, said Wayne Hogrefe, who manages the event along with fellow organizer Maggie Schneider.

About 14 years ago, Hogrefe agreed to take over the event. What makes it so successful these days is that the proceeds benefit El Toro High School and its programs, he said.

“Most entrants register because they know the money goes to benefit the high school,” Hogrefe said.

This year, more than 1,100 competitors hit the pavement as Independence Day 2011 began to heat up.

Amanda Fritz, a 2001 graduate of Trabuco Hills High School, has run the course at least three times in previous years. On Monday, she sat with her four-legged friends, a German-Sheppard mix named Rowdy and Heidi, a Rottweiler mix, before the race.

Tim Odell, a Long Beach transplant, said he has run in the annual Independence Day race since he first moved to Lake Forest eight years ago.

“I do it because it’s fun,” he said. This year, he ran the race with his 8-year-old daughter Jacqueline—her first 5K.

For Connor McDonald, 17, the run is all about being healthy, while his friend, Sean McCauley, 15, said he competes because he is a good runner. The two have run together for four years in a row.

Another competitor, 54-year-old Gerard Luckett from Rancho Santa Margarita, said he has run the course about eight times previously, buoyed by encouragement from friends who attend the same gym as he does. Luckett's nephew, 17-year-old Mitch Poopolenske of Lake Forest, also competed Monday.

took top honors in the 5K this year, with a time of 15:51:6. The day's top female racer, Foothill Ranch resident Makenna Mcgrann, also 17, took first with a time of 20:06:9.

In the past years 14 years, Splittgerber and Hogrefe said the 5K has raised more than $100,000 for the school.

The money, given to the ETHS Parent Student Teachers Organization, helps fund educational programs at the school. In the past, it has help supported the school's weather station and library facility, among other efforts.