Friends of Watsonville Parks and Community Services

The inaugural Apple City 5k!

Come run fun easy trails and be a part of the Watsonville community!

Going back to the roots of farming in Watsonville, the Apple City 5k at Pinto Lake County Park is a dedication to agricultural history and life of the Pajaro Valley.

Participants will experience the scenic meadows and trails of the county park, with gentle trails circling the whole park.

The kids 1k will go around the soccer fields near the starting/finish line.

This race is hosted by the Santa Cruz Track Club Fall Race series with 50% of funds going to the Pajaro Valley Education Foundation to support the students of the Pajaro Valley.

Stronger Together: 5th Annual 1k/5k Walk-Run

Early Bird Pricing and Family Pack, Available Now-Until August 15, 2026!

Same Day Registration is Available between 8:00 am and 9:00 am Day of the Event

Sunday, September 20th at Aptos High School Track and Field

The Stronger Together Walk-Run is a community awareness and fundraising event held annually at Aptos High School to mark the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Now in its fifth year, the event features a 1k and 5k course, children’s activities, music, food trucks, community resource tables, raffles, and team prizes. Organized by Monarch Services, the event promotes wellness, solidarity, and support for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking across Santa Cruz County.

Event opens 8:00 am- Same Day Registration and food trucks 8:00 to 9:00 am, welcome and stretch. 9:00 am 1k race begins and 5k immediately after. Dance performance, community activities and food trucks during the event.

Course info 5K: • 8:30 AM Start• 843 Feet of elevation gain10K: • 8:30 AM Start• 1,532 Feet of elevation gainHalf Marathon: • 8:00 AM Start• 2,828 Feet of elevation gainFor more info on each race, including GPX files, please refer to our website. The 50th Annual Mount Madonna Challenge The Mt. Madonna Challenge began in 1975 by a hodge podge group of runners led by a gentleman with a passion for running, Bill Flodberg. It was one of the original trail races that began the evolution of trail running. In his 75 years, Bill wore many hats, and he wore them with equal passion. Bill was an avid runner; during college, he ran for UC Berkeley; later, he ran and trained on the roads and trails in San Martin and Gilroy, and he raced competitively well into his 70s. In addition to his personal running accomplishments, Bill encouraged runners and running as a Cross Country Coach at Gavilan College, as one of the founders of the Gavilan Joggers and Striders Running Club, through his “Running Man”

running column, and as an organizer and director of several local races, including the Mt. Madonna Challenge. Thanks to Bill, thousands of people were enriched by his efforts to encourage music and the arts. And thanks to Bill, thousands of people in the running community have benefited from his example, encouragement, and advice. Non-profit/Your Race Fees at Work! In 2007, the South Valley Running Club took over ownership and management of the Mt. Madonna Challenge as Bill could no longer manage putting on the race. The running club took over the race with the intent of all proceeds being donated in the form of scholarships for college to local high school running athletes. Over the 13 years, the running club put on the Mt. Madonna Challenge, one to five scholarships were given out each year to local high school seniors. As with many organizations over time, the running club saw a decline in club support and participation with putting on the Mt. Madonna Challenge and decided that it was

time to transfer the race to someone that could bring renewed energy and passion to the race. Beginning with the 2020 race, Jose Cruz will be taking over ownership and management of the race. A local amazing running athlete, Jose has big plans for the race and promises to put on a fantastic race for those coming to run it. All proceeds will go towards the Mt. Madonna Scholarship, which will sponsor local high school runners to take part in the Max King Trail Running Camp in June. A week packed with adventure, camaraderie, running tips, exploration, and stewardship! Our goal is to have 8 - 10 kids from various local schools eventually attend this running camp. Read more information on the camp at www.maxkingtrc.com/mtshastayouth Cupless Race/Hydrapak There will be no disposable cups at this race as it produced much unnecessary waste! But not to worry!, Hadrapak stepped in to support us! The SpeedCup's flexible design allows you to crush the cup and stuff it anywhere, from your running vest

to your camp kit. The integrated finger loop provides support when drinking or pouring, free standing when empty and full. Made of ultra-durable, abrasion resistant TPU & RF welded seams for superior durability and elasticity. Perfect for race day! Cut-Off Time (Half Marathon) As much as we’d love to see you cross the finish line, we will be implementing a cut-off time for the Half Marathon. We know that the climb up Sprig Lake Trail is not easy but if you have not reached the first aid station for the second time (the first aid station is at mile 2.6, also serves as the second aid station at mile 5) by 9:45am, which is a 21:00 minute per mile pace, we will ask you to take Blackhawk Trail all the way down to the finish. Please respect our aid station volunteers as they ask you to make your way down to the finish. This is primarily for your safety, but our permits and timing partners have time limits and we want to respect that. We will have course sweepers removing course markers shortly

after the cut-off time. Please respect them as they are volunteers. Please be sure to let the race director and timers know that you did not make the cut off or that you dropped from the race. NO RACE DAY REGISTRATION YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SIGN UP FOR THE RACE ON RACE DAY! REGISTRATION CLOSES ON 8/8/2026. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SIGN UP EARLY! Parking and Shuttle Parking at Sprig Lake is very limited, which means we need to be strategic about how we park everyone. Especially now that the ranger is no longer allowing us to use the stretch from the equestrian parking down to the start/finish area as a place to park. There will be a shuttle running from Fortino Winery to the main parking lot at Sprig Lake beginning at 6:30 AM. We encourage you to bring a small vehicle, carpool, and arrive early if you want to park in the main area. Please listen to our volunteers and be respectful to them. Cars will be asked to fill the equestrian parking area first, before filling up the front of the park (the

main park entrance/exit area). Once the parking lot is full, you will be asked to head down to Fortino Winery and wait for the shuttle. We will delay start times if needed, but we hope this is not the case. Check-In and Packet Pickup Check-In, Packet Pickup, and RegistrationPre-Race Day Packet Pickup will be hosted the day before the race at High & Mighty Pizza Joint. on Friday 5-7:30PM. Address: 7661 Monterey Rd, Gilroy, CA 95020 If you can't make it to Pre-Race Day Packet Pickup, we'll have Packet Pickup on the day of the race. Race Day Packet Pickup will be at the race location. Chip Timing by SVE Timing Timing will be done by none other than SVE Timing! So whether you are running the half marathon, 10k or 5k, you will be guaranteed accurate results! Chip timing through bib. No Refunds We understand that things out of our control can happen weeks before the race or even the day of the race. We’ll try our best to accommodate you but there are no refunds. All our proceeds benefit the youth

in our community. Think of it as a donation. Event's current local time: 1:13 AM PT