St. Patty's Day Dash

Alameda East Bay Miracle League holds one of its main fundraisers every year in March close to St. Patrick's Day. On a breezy, sunny morning all hearts are warmed by the site of runners of all abilities participating in a 5K fun run along the Alameda shoreline. Check this page for information about this event in 2011.

Click here to view photos from the Dash. Many thanks our wonderful sponsors!

Here's a press release of this year's event:

Alamedans Support the Needs of Underserved Children
in the Third Annual St. Patty's Day Dash

Bay Area runners of all ages participated in an Alameda race to give children with special needs a chance to know the joy of participating in team sports. On the morning of March 13th over 200 athletes, many dressed in Irish garb, cruised along the bike path between Crown Beach Memorial Park and Park Street in the St. Patty's Day Dash, an annual event benefiting the Alameda East Bay Miracle League.

The turnout this year is wonderful, said Roberta Rockwell, President of the Alameda East Bay Miracle League. The event keeps getting bigger, and the St. Patrick’s Day costumes are even more elaborate this year. We are so grateful for all the support.

The Alameda East Bay Miracle League is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to construct a multi-use rubberized field for baseball and soccer that will allow differently-abled children and others to participate team sports. The Miracle League is a national organization, similar to Little League, with over one hundred local Miracle League chapters in operation. But in the Bay Area there are over 30,000 physically challenged children who are prohibited from engaging in team sports because there is simply nowhere for them to play.

Building an accessible field and establishing a league for these underserved kids is simply the right thing to do, said Anastasia Pieda, the volunteer coordinator for the Dash and Office Manager for Back To Health Chiropractic Center, the primary sponsor of the event. We hope this event will help raise awareness about the cause, promote health, and allow folks to have some fun too.

The Dash left a good impression of Alameda on Roy Earle, an 86-year participant visiting from Norway, Maine. I had a great time. The people were friendly, the weather was gorgeous, and picturesque view of the San Francisco skyline could not be better, he said. Count me in for next year.

Here are the top 3 finishers for the 2010 race:

Click here to see slides
of the St. Patty's Day DASH.