The annual New Year’s Day Fun Run event is no longer being run.
The informal downtown 5K run-walk-or-stroll event, hosted by the City of Los Altos, is over for now, due mainly to city staffing challenges in organizing the event.
“At this point, there are no plans to hold the event again,” said Manny Hernandez, city parks and recreation director. “It is a very difficult event for us with all the staff needed, street closures, sponsors, etc. It takes a great deal of work and staffing is a challenge with the holiday week. We have looked into different dates for a fun run, but could not find something that would be OK for downtown businesses.”
This is the second time the New Year’s celebratory run has been discontinued. From 1958 to 1993, an organized run took place in and around Los Altos, to various degrees and involving different organizers.
It started as a Midnight Run at Foothill College before transitioning to downtown Los Altos in 1975. The run bounced between Foothill and downtown for several years, often
accompanied by concerns that surrounding businesses would be impacted. The event devolved into a run around the Los Altos Civic Center in 1993 before disappearing altogether in 1994.
In 2002, then-Mayor King Lear helped resurrect the event as a member of the city’s 50th anniversary committee. He noted the city set up a 9 a.m. start time on New Year’s Day to minimize interference with open stores in the downtown.
“The city made 150 T-Shirts to sell,” he recalled. “About 200 participants showed up including Bob Anderson, the publisher of Runners’ World and David Boore from the Los Altos High School track team that started the idea in 1958.”
With no pre-registration or participation fee, experienced runners alongside those looking to start their new year on the right foot, gathered at State and Main streets for the start of the run. Most of the 800 to 1,000 participants usually showed up at the proverbial last minute.
The downtown 5K run was held regularly until 2021, when public health restrictions under the pandemic forced cancellation of the event. City recreation staff tried to hold the event last year, pushing the date to Jan. 7. But the event was canceled due to inclement weather.
