In its fourth year, the annual Escalon Educational Foundation Fun Color Run is going strong.

Nearly 300 participants were registered for the Saturday morning event, Feb. 29, staged for the first time this year on the Escalon High School campus. It was the kick-off event for a full day of activities on campus, as the high school marked its 100th anniversary.

Organizers said they were pleased with the turnout and the way the run went off, with a course laid out around the campus of Escalon High School. The roughly one-mile route was done once by those taking part in the mile walk/run and it was three times around for the longer distance. The race began and ended on the track in the football stadium and ventured out on to the baseball fields, softball fields and soccer fields before coming back into Memorial Stadium to wrap up the course on Engel Field.

The run was self-timed, with a running clock at the start/finish. There were five color stations and those that didn’t want to be doused in the colorful powder as they ran past were asked to stay to the left side of the color station tables.

Serving as sponsors this year for the EEF Fun Color Run were American Crane, Pacific Southwest Irrigation, Brecher & Choate, Pence Plumbing, All Rigging, D’Boni’s Pizza, OPTI Physical Therapy Institute, Mid Valley Ag, Thompson Ranch and Escalon FIT. The crew from Escalon FIT provided participants with some stretching exercises to warm them up before the gun sounded to start the run at 9 a.m.

“We wanted to coincide with the centennial,” said Nick Caton, who was one of the organizers.

Setting up the course and also working with the EEF to coordinate the run was EHS cross country coach Malinda Walker.

“It’s self-timed with lots of color and lots of fun,” she said. “It’s an off road event and I’m familiar with the sport and know how to set up a race so I was more than happy to help.”

With donations coming in the form of sponsorships and a $20 registration fee per participant, the goal is to raise as much money as possible for the Escalon Educational Foundation, which helps provide funds for a variety of needs at all school sites and grade levels.

“Sports Boosters is huge for our athletics; our coaches and athletes depend on the Sports Boosters and EEF donates to the teachers and students in the classroom,” Walker said. “They help build (academics) in a similar way … we want to be successful in the classroom just as we are successful in sports.”

A final fundraising total was not available at press time but officials said they feel that the event did very well in its fourth year and should be back for another go-round in 2021.