Get ready, get set, go to the first ever Back-2-School/2-Mile Family Fun Run to benefit the Sequim Education Foundation on Sept. 1.

This is no ordinary fun run. Oh, no. This fun run has an enchanted forest, a homework hill and a Flat Stanley limbo among other exciting obstacles along the two-mile schoolyard course.

"The whole idea is to make it fun for kids, not just going down the road and back and seeing who is the fastest," said Stu Marcy, fun run committee member.

The Sequim School District, SEF and the Boys & Girls Club are partnering for the event to promote healthy lifestyles and celebrate the beginning of a new school year.

Marcy, high school teacher and avid runner, said he and fellow teacher Dave Hasenpflug designed the course so that it never crosses itself yet remains completely on school property. The run begins on the track, goes through a tire drill in the softball fields, over a "homework hill" of hay, under a Flat Stanley limbo named after the fictional character, through the enchanted forest of oak trees near the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center, across the "Precipitation Pass" of sprinklers, and winds throughout the Helen Haller playground before working its way back to the track.

Marcy said most of the course should be visible from the grandstands at the track.

Dick Hughes of the Sequim Education Foundation said the fun run is just the start of what he hopes to be an annual back-to-school event that next year will include a family fair.

"We're wanting to get that started this year and then we're planning on getting some money together to have a fair with the event next year," he said.

The foundation will use proceeds for teacher grants, which help pay for extra-curricular projects and activities, he said.

Through other fundraisers the foundation also sponsors events such as the Student Film Festival, Student Engineering Challenge, Student Enrichment Grants, Shoes for Kids Program and the Annual SEF Variety Show.

Registration for the fun run begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, at the high school stadium; the race begins at 9 a.m. Parking is available in the Fir Street stadium parking lot. For preregistration, contact Community Liaison Patsene Dashiell at the Sequim School District office, 503 N. Fir St. or 582-3264. Entry fees are $5 per person or $20 for a family of five or more and cash or checks will be accepted. Checks should be made out to Sequim Education Foundation.

First-, second- and third-place ribbons will be awarded to each age group as follows: Kindergarten-second grade, third-fifth grade, sixth-eighth grade, ninth-12th grade and 18 and older. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to participate. All participants can take part in drawings for door prizes at the end of the race.

To donate a prize, e-mail Marcy at stumarcy@olypen.com.

Reach Amanda Winters at awinters@sequimgazette.com.

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