Updated: Rotary 4-Mile Run Sunday to Benefit Charity

Los Gatos Rotary Club President Tom Boyce was busy Sunday afternoon getting local runners and walkers to sign up for the upcoming four-mile Great Race at 9 a.m. Sunday in Saratoga.

In just a matter of minutes, he had gotten a walker and an experienced marathoner to register for the 33rd annual event while he stood outside the store on West Main Street.

He seemed to be preaching something he knows first hand—the value of exercise, supporting local races whose proceeds benefit charity and trying to connect with people through fun athletic events.

Boyce has been a strong supporter of the race for years. He'll be donating his time at the registration booth the day of the event and at the Fun and Fitness Fair following the race. 

"Many families come out and run together and take the dog along. It's going to be a fun morning," Boyce predicted.

Boyce and event chairman Mike Norcia will be at the starting line bright and early at 14420 Big Basin Way, in Saratoga—between Third and Fourth streets—to get the crowd excited for the run/walk and help with same-day registrants who will be welcomed.

More than 1,500 people are expected to participate. Money raised from registration and sponsorship fees go 100 percent into the Los Gatos Rotary Charities Foundation, which supports local and international philanthropic projects.

For $35, participants will enjoy a nice USATF-certified course, a T-shirt, bib and a D-tag timing chip, the latest technology to keep track of entrants' time and one that is lighter and less intrusive than other timing technology. 

The course will travel from downtown Saratoga, down Highway 9 going south and finish on North Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos.

Families with more than three participants get to sign up a fourth member for free, according to the event's Web page.

The annual Great Pancake Breakfast has been cancelled this year, but the Fun and Fitness Fair will follow the race on Elm Street and Santa Cruz Avenue near the finish area in Los Gatos.

Five shuttle buses will be available for runners from 7 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. at Grays Lane and Santa Cruz Avenue to transport them to the starting line and registration area in Saratoga. Return shuttle service will be available until 11 a.m. A "sweat truck" will allow participants to leave their extra clothing at the start line and pick it up at the finish line.

Those interested in signing up can do so by going to the Rotary Club of Los Gatos' Web page, www.active.com, Athletic Performance, 55 W. Main St., in Los Gatos; , 51 University Ave., in Los Gatos; or Running Revolution, 511 E. Campbell Ave.

Want to do something good with your old running shoes? Deposit them in the bins at the starting line or after the race and Soles4Souls will donate them so someone in need around the globe, according to the event's Web page.

The Great Race is sponsored by the , Cornerstone Shopping Center, El Camino Hospital, Princeton Capital, Good Samaritan Hospital, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Barracuda Networks, Athletic Performance, CPO Ltd., Runner's Factory, The Running Revolution and Whole Foods.

Race results will be posted at www.losgatosrotary.org.

For more information call Norcia at 408-823-2022.