Race Details

DATE & TIME

Saturday, March 16th @ 8:30 am Please arrive early

PARKING

If you go West on Vaughn Ave from Gilbert Rd (in between Guadalupe Rd and Elliot Rd), you will see an entrance for a parking area. There is uncovered parking and a garage as shown on the map. Type in “Clever Koi Gilbert” into your GPS and it will take you right there.

5K START

Western Powerline Trail, West of Gilbert Rd

Near the parking lot, there is a grass area with benches and a water feature near the canal and Clever Koi.

ROUTE

You will be going West on a designated canal path until you get to Horne St. Once you’ve reached McQueen Park, you can turn around and head back to the start. There will be signs to guide you.

AFTER PARTY

OHSO is on the North East side of Gilbert Rd on Vaughn Ave. We will be hanging at “The Park” portion of the restaurant. It’s an open area, so there is no reservation.

Why We Run

For those of you who don’t know, Jim Hopkins was a beloved husband, devoted father and grandfather and dear friend to many who passed on March 17, 2023. Jim was a faithful, loving, funny, smart, selfless man. If you met him, you’re likely a better person for it! Jim was an avid beer drinker and a founding member of the Amalgamated Brew Inspectors, beer tasting club. Jim’s go-to birthday Facebook post to his friends was “I’ll Hoist a Pint Fer Ya!”. It is an uncanny coincidence that he passed on St. Patrick’s day, as if we needed one more excuse to hoist a pint fer him!

So why are we running a 5k to honor Jim? Jim loved to run. And he especially loved 5k races with his daughter, Brandy and son, John. But Jim wasn’t always a runner. Jim only started running 7 years before he passed. In fact, Jim shared that he didn’t consider himself a runner at all, it was more like “controlled falling”. Running was more than just exercise for Jim. It was a way for him to take control of his health and honor his dad. It was security that he could keep showing up for his family. It was a way to keep up with the younger guys on hunting trips. It was a way to connect with Brandy and John, get some flashy medals and have one more excuse to have some beer. Running was a symbol of Jim’s perseverance and determination.

Let’s all take a page out of Jim’s book and push through our “controlled fall”.

What’s with the monkey? Jim loved chimps, especially chimps doing human things. Anyone could simply show him a picture of a chimp making a silly face and he would crack up laughing. A classic go to for birthday cards would be the one with the silly chimp… guaranteed laughs.