About Mountain Runners
Mountain Runners formed under the direction of Dr. Jim Parker in the early ‘80s with the mission of creating an event that not only allowed runners to share their love of the sport, but also promoted the health of the community.
““It’s just really gratifying to see what we’ve done in the community over the years with this event. It’s really nice to see the support of the community, you know that you’re not alone.” ”
Our history
What began with boomboxes along the race route has blossomed into the "parade in reverse" that treats walkers to tasty snacks from local restaurants and a variety of entertainment.
The Mt. Shasta hospital—first as Eskaton, then as Mercy Medical Center, and now as part of Dignity Health—has been a major sponsor since the first race. The hospital's support helped the event become profitable early on. The event has grown from 250 participants in the first year to 3000-5000 registered entrants every year.
Thousands of people enjoy Mt. Shasta's Fourth of July event, especially during the annual 4th of July Walk/Run when people get to visit while enjoying a pleasant walk—not to mention entertainment and goodies. Mountain Runners spends months preparing for the morning event, while the community reaps rewards from the group's generosity year round. Evidence of the event’s impact can be seen in the numerous beatification projects enhancing downtown as well as felt in the significant funding distributed to youth sports, nonprofit, and community groups year after year.
Mountain Runners shares the proceeds of the event with a wide variety of local partners. Many of the volunteers who make the event possible represent a wide variety of local youth sports, nonprofit, and community groups who both show up to get things done as well as receive a share of the proceeds from the event.
Support comes not only from volunteers, but also from the City of Mt. Shasta, the Mt. Shasta Chamber of Commerce, and the California Highway Patrol, all of whom work to make the event successful. Mountain Runners also has an invaluable team of corporate sponsors ranging from grocery stores and medical centers to auto dealerships and communications companies.
In 2018, Mountain Runners became one of the founding projects in creating Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance, formed with the aim of gathering together the larger community of outdoor recreation nonprofit organizations and initiatives throughout far Northern California. SORA hopes to serve to amplify the voice of outdoor recreation interests within the region, and support partnerships, policy, and planning related to outdoor recreation and community vitality. Through combining forces with other area groups and consolidating financial and administrative resources, our goal is to reduce the burden on smaller nonprofits, resulting in more sustainable programs, events, and organization.
event committee
Hundreds of volunteers take some coordinating; our Event Committee consists of team leaders who consistently and selflessly pull things together and help make it happen. Long before the 4th, this crew is putting in the hours. If you want to give them a hand, please consider volunteering.
Staff
Justi Hansen, SORA Executive Director
Shayna Cassidy, SORA Event Coordinator
Board of Directors
Mountain Runners, organized as Mt. Shasta Runners, Inc. for nearly 40 years, is now a project of Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance.