SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes will host a virtual race in March to raise money for equality in health, education and wellbeing. The programs benefiting from the race focus on literacy, higher education, social emotional learning, physical fitness, and inclusivity and accessibility. Registration, available here, is required by February 27 with early-bird pricing through February 13.
The race benefits various Bay Area youth programs in education and soccer, supporting pilot partnerships with America SCORES Bay Area, a youth program that focuses on bringing communities together through literacy and soccer, and Community Organized Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL), an after-school program that provides learning assistance to students in need. The race will also benefit existing partners Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiatives (BAWSI), who works with underserved girls on building leadership and community skills, and the Bay Area All-Star Scholarship Team (BAASST), a local scholarship program that supports Bay Area high school students to achieve their goals of higher education.
The virtual race challenges participants to run, walk, roller skate, skateboard, wheel or bike for 7.4 miles between March 1–20, with official distance tracked through one of a number of appropriate apps. The event runs for 20 days due to this season’s 20th anniversary of the 2001 MLS Cup-winning Earthquakes team and targets 7.4 miles as the team was founded in 1974.
All participants will be divided into one of four teams, led by Quakes captains from the current roster and the 2001 side. The captain duos are JT Marcinkowski & Zak Ibsen; Shea Salinas & Jimmy Conrad; Tommy Thompson and Troy Dayak; and Oswaldo Alanis & Ramiro Corrales (se habla español).
The event is broken into two price categories, with both including a t-shirt and race medal. For $44, participants will be randomly assigned team captains and are given a fundraising goal of $30. For $74, participants will have the opportunity to choose their team captains and will have already met their fundraising goal. All prices go up by $6 after February 13.
Captains will communicate with their respective teams on a weekly basis with social media challenges (#QuakesRace) such as images from their route, what food keeps them energized, and what music they use for motivation. Selected winners of each challenge as well as the highest fundraiser from each team will get to participate in a virtual post-race meet & greet sponsored by Michelob Ultra and win free beer, available for pick-up or delivery in California.
