Event is hosted from Friday, November 20 – Thursday, December 31 with over $2500 in prizes; benefits local youth runners in partnership with the Santa Barbara Athletic Association
Santa Barbara, Calif. (November 18, 2020) – Run Local’s latest addition to its event portfolio, welcomes runners to the American Riviera for a free, virtual Santa Barbara Half Marathon & 5K benefiting local youth runners in partnership with the Santa Barbara Athletic Association (SBAA). Registration opens on Wednesday, November 18 and the virtual run and walk challenge is hosted from Friday, November 20 – Sunday, December 31 with prizes valued at over $2500 from HOKA ONE ONE, Santa Barbara Running Co. and the Run Local Shop.
For inspiration, the event will provide Santa Barbara Half Marathon (13.1 mile) and 5K (3.1 mile) courses, however participants can choose to run wherever their favorite roads or trails are located. Proceeds of the event will support SBAA’s program in conjunction with Girls, Inc. to provide young runners with shoes and the equipment they need to ensure that economic need is not a barrier to their ability to begin a lifelong love of running and a healthy lifestyle. Participants will be able to donate to the SBAA during the registration process as well as customize and share their personal fundraising page through the Race Roster platform.
“Our staff have deep ties to Santa Barbara and having this event come to life, albeit virtually, is an exciting addition to our calendar,” commented Run Local President, Aaron Jacobsen. “In partnership with the SBAA we hope to raise over $5,000 for its youth programs at a critical time for many kids in this continuing COVID-era.”
Once registered, participants will be provided the option to sync a GPS device with the Runkeeper™ app or manually upload it to the event’s leaderboard. Prizes will be awarded to not only the top runners, but all runners and walkers logging their activity will be eligible for prizes through a random drawing. In addition, all entries are also eligible for the 2020 SBAA Virtual GP, a race series comprising five distances from 1-Mile to the 13.1 Mile Half Marathon.
“Many children are impacted without the resources that school sports provide and our partnership with Girls, Inc. to support local kids is more important than ever,” said SBAA Board President, Lisa Dosch. “We’re thrilled to partner with Run Local, a company that has roots in our hometown and also brings a level of expertise from working on some of the biggest running events in the country.”
To register and learn more about the Santa Barbara Half Marathon, visit www.santabarbarahalf.com.
About Run Local®
Our mission is to support local communities through the power of running. Since 2012, Run Local has locally produced events celebrating runners, artists, and the unique diversity of each region. Its annual Series of events includes the San Jose 408K Race to the Row brought to you by Amazon (February), San Jose Shamrock Run 5K & 10K (March), Silicon Valley Half presented by Excite Credit Union (April), Across the Bay 12K & 5K (July), the East Bay 510K – 5K & 10K (October) as well as the California Coast 500 (summer).
For more information, visit RunLocalEvents.com and join us on social @RunLocalEvents #runlocal.
About the SBAA
Santa Barbara Athletic Association provides community leadership and support for all types of running, including track trail, ultra, road and cross-country. We encourage people of all ages and abilities to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle through running and we work collaboratively with the community to bring attention and respect to Santa Barbara as a great running community.
Learn more at sbrunning.org.
