Politics & Government
Beall, Hyundai Bring Back Rancho Santa Margarita 5K
Hyundai takes over the Labor Day race, which the city had discontinued because of budget concerns. The event will raise money to fight pediatric cancer.
The Rancho Santa Margarita 5K race is back with a new organizer and a new name, and the city promises it will be "bigger and better than ever."
Hyundai Motor America will organize the charity 5K Race & Run on Labor Day, Sept. 5, bringing back the event that the City Council discontinued through budget cutbacks, officials announced Wednesday.
It's part of Hyundai’s Hope on Wheels program, and all funds raised will benefit the Hyundai Cancer Institute at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC).
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The original event—called the Rancho Santa Margarita 5K Run/Walk and Healthy Communities Expo—drew hundreds of runners each year to Rancho Santa Margarita until its final lap in 2009. The first race was in 2005. The annual event's cost to the city was about $40,000, according to Wendi Redington, community services supervisor.
Mayor Tony Beall, who announced the upcoming event at the July 13 City Council meeting, said he’d been working with the city staff and Hyundai officials for several months to “bring back to our community this signature event.”
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He said that because of the economic slowdown, "our City Council was forced to cancel this flagship event, an event that many on this City Council and many in our community held dear."
However, he added, “tonight there is great news for Rancho residents: The RSM 5K race will be back this year, and it will be bigger and better than ever before.”
Beginning with registration at 6:30 a.m., the event will feature a 5-kilometer (3.10-mile) run or walk, along with a Celebration of Life Family Fun Day, where families can participate in face painting, carnival games and arts and crafts.
The event starts off at .
The event kicks off the national Hyundai Hope on Wheels September Hope Grants program tour, during which $6 million in grants for pediatric cancer research will be awarded.
According to its website, the Hope on Wheels program has awarded more than $34 million in donations to pediatric cancer research since the organization's inception, in 1998.
Online registration is open until Saturday, Sept. 3, 11:59 p.m. The cost is $30 per participant ages 10 and up. It's free for children 9 and under, and race participants can join in the celebration afterward for free.
The city staff said the event won't affect the city’s budget except for any staff time that is involved.
