With the temperature at 34 degrees at 9 a.m. Jan. 1, local residents huddled in their cars waiting for the start of the Los Altos Recreation Department’s 2015 New Year’s Day Fun Run.
When Los Altos Mayor Jan Pepper rang the bell for the 13th annual 5K run, approximately 1,000 eager runners and walkers assembled at the Community Plaza starting line to kick off the event.
“There isn’t a better way to break in 2015,” said disc jockey Rens Boorsma of Sound Trax as he played rap music to set the pace.
Several of the runners recalled running in the first midnight New Year’s Eve run at Foothill College in 1960, which transferred to downtown Los Altos when the city celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Recreation coordinator Barbara Smith noted that many of the participants came from neighboring towns or were visiting relatives for Christmas.
The race is open to people of all ages and abilities, as well as dogs on leash. A true 5K run is the equivalent of 3.1 miles, but those who run inside on the course claim that it is a bit shorter. Participants circled the downtown triangle three times.
Some runners completed the course in under 20 minutes, while some walkers took more than an hour to finish. At 10:20 a.m., there were still walkers and strollers crossing the finish line.
The first man to complete the run was Eric Buysse of Santa Clara, who finished with a time of 17 minutes, 13 seconds. Tara Saxena of Palo Alto, the first female finisher, came in at 19:30.
