LAKE ELSINORE: 580 runners unite

7th annual Unity in the Community event has strongest showing yet

By NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 19, 2008 8:55 PM PDT ∞

The younger participants in Lake Elsinore's Unity in the Community 5K run/ walk get a little head start early Saturday morning. (STEVE THORNTON/Staff Photographer)

LAKE ELSINORE ---- Michael Baker, 40, led the pack at Saturday's seventh annual Unity in the Community 5K course. While participants have the option of running or walking, Baker blazed ahead with his quick strides to be first.

After he crossed the finish line, with a time of 18:57, the Lake Elsinore resident kept running ---- all the way to his car.

"His son has a baseball game," event organizer Janna Kaas said. "That is so funny that he won, and just kept going."

Kaas, who founded the Unity in the Community event as a way to bring the people of Lake Elsinore together and to raise funds for local groups, said she appreciated any amount of time people spent at the early morning event. The race benefits local organizations, such as the Lake Elsinore school libraries, HOPE, Cops for Kids, the Lake Elsinore Valley Education Foundation and the Unity Parade.

It seems that more people than ever are lacing up their shoes to support their city.

There were 580 registered runners, Kaas said, nearly 200 more than participated last year.

"It's fun to get up early and do something," Lenore Volturno, of Temecula, said of the 7:45 a.m. race.

It was the first time Volturno and her friend, Lauren Spurgeon, of Pala, attended the run on the Lake Elsinore levee. The two mothers brought other first-timers: Volturno's 6-month-old daughter and Spurgeon's 4-month-old son.

"It's their first run, ever," Spurgeon said of the little ones bundled up in their strollers.

While the fundraiser draws people from surrounding communities, it also gives some a reason for homecoming. Melissa Kaas, daughter in-law to Janna, traveled from Utah to take part in the event.

"I remember when this first started. It was tiny, it was nothing like this," Melissa Kaas said. "It's really amazing how many people support this."

Family participation was evident by others. Maritza Martinez cheered on her daughter and husband with chants of "you can do it," while her other two children held up homemade signs.

Kingsley Martinez 14, finished ahead of her father, Patricio, who hasn't run in 15 years, he said.

"Never stop. You want to stop, but you just can't stop," he said, out of breath.

Leading her age group, Alexandra Morris, 13, finished with a time of 22:12. Alexandra, a student at Terra Cotta Middle School in Lake Elsinore, said Saturday was her first time at the Unity in the Community Event.

"It think I'll come back next year," she said. "It was a lot of fun, and I really liked it."

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .