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The brainchild of a Noble Elementary School Parent Teacher Association member originally intended to be a school fund-raiser quickly blossomed into an event for the entire district.Noble PTA and San Jose City Councilmember Kansen Chu hosted the first Berryessa 5K Walk Sunday, Oct. 9, raising funds to benefit all schools in the Berryessa Union School District.
The event was the creation of parent Manju Ramachandran, who initially hoped to raise money for Noble.

Ramachandran thought of the event in June and wanted to celebrate Walk to School Week, the first week of October. Ramachandran said she was tired of each campus holding isolated events and decided to create a Berryessa 5K Walk instead of a Noble 5K.

"Every one of our schools has a walkathon, and I wanted to figure out a way to bring the entire community together for our district," she said. Unlike other fund-raisers that set a monetary goal, Ramachandran set a goal of attracting 250 participants. She said 580 people registered for the run, while 515 were at the starting line Sunday. Ramachandran said about 330 participants were from Noble. There were also participants from Majestic Way and Northwood elementary schools.
Entrance fees were $20 for adults, $10 for children and $15 for a family of four. Half of the admission went to the participant's school, so if an adult paid their $20 entrance fee, $10 went to the school their child attends, Ramachandran said.

On top of that, Chu's office matched $5 for every walker in attendance, Ramachandran said.
A total of $4,000 had been raised by press time. "This is a wonderful event to bring the community together," Chu said. "It's for a very good cause and a great way to support district schools. It's something everybody can do."

The course began at the Berryessa Community Center, then traversed up Piedmont Road through Penitencia Creek around the percolation ponds. The run then made its way to the library and back to the Berryessa Community Center, a total of 3.1 miles, or 5 kilometers.
Also in attendance were about 45 students from Piedmont Hills High School who also paid the entrance fee.

Ramachandran said she tried to donate the funds those students raised to the high school, but because it's part of the East Side Union High School District, the money was rejected. After the run a resource fair was held at the community center featuring many of the sponsors including Cold Stone Creamery, Sports Authority and Sylvan Learning Center, among 13 others. Even Jamba Juice, which wasn't an event sponsor, came to the resource fair.

Ramachandran is hoping to hold the run around the same time next year and attract about 750 people. Although Walk to School Week starts the first weekend in October, she wants to make sure the Berryessa 5K Walk doesn't conflict with the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in downtown San Jose, which attracts thousands of runners to city streets. She's also hoping to move the walk to Berryessa streets rather than the trails around Penitencia Creek.

"I'm hoping we can move onto streets like Grossmont," she said. "Many of the paths on the trails Sunday were very narrow, and it was hard for people with strollers to walk." Ramachandran is also hoping to turn future runs into races, complete with accreditations as a sanctioned event. "I think it's a great way for children and families to spend time together, and come out to support the community and our schools," she said. "It was a great first time out, and there was just a lot of positive energy all day."

Contact Wes Bowers at wbowers@themilpitaspost.com or 510-661-9920. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/milpitas post and twitter.com/milpitaspost.
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