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Hallandale Beach PAL’s Inaugural 5-K Run By Karen Fleming
“I decided to go for a little run,” Forrest Gump said in the movie of the same name. A lot of folks decided to do the same thing on May 14, 2011 at Gulfstream Park, a premier, thoroughbred horse racing track in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Forrest Gump wasn’t present that day, but the feet of two hundred and fifty other runners pounded the same hard-packed track where famous thoroughbred horses race. The event was a great success. “It was pretty cool for many of the runners,” Jonathan Carrillo, program coordinator of Hallandale Beach PAL, commented. “They were excited about running on a track where million-dollar horses run. You don’t see that very often. The race started on the actual horse track at Gulfstream Park, and then wound through the shops in the Village of Gulfstream Park before concluding at the same finish line where Kentucky Derby winners Barbaro, Big Brown, Spectacular Bid and Funny Cide have run.” Jonathan Carrillo and Major Ken Cowley came up with the idea for this unique fund raiser for Hallandale Beach PAL: “We thought it would be phenomenal to have the race on the track itself.” After Gulfstream Park agreed, the Hallandale Beach Police Department, the PAL staff, PAL board of directors and volunteers spent many months getting everything organized. “It’s a lot of work obviously,” Mr. Carrillo said. “We were treading new water, trying to figure things out.” Interestingly, when this article was coming together in late May, Jonathan Carrillo and Ken Cowley were attending the National PAL conference in Nevada, teaching a workshop about fundraising opportunities for Police Athletic Leagues. They had a lot to share!
“Without Gulfstream, this event would never have happened,” Mr. Carrillo said. “They gave us the facilities, the employees, the rest rooms--they set everything up at no cost to us.” Other sponsors offered important help as well: The Village at Gulfstream Park, the City of Hallandale Beach, the Hallandale Beach Police Department and the new chief of police, Dwayne Flournoy, Whole Food Market (provided snacks, drinks, a nice spread for the runners after the race, water bottles for water stations), Sun Sentinel (donated $2500 worth of advertising and set up a tent at the race), Crosstown Towing, Kiwanis Club of Hallandale Beach, Mayor Joy Cooper, Wells Fargo, Sun Air, and Edco Award. Mr. Carrillo extended thanks to all the sponsors, and in addition, expressed appreciation to the Community Involvement Unit, the PAL board, and all the volunteers, especially the PAL Track Club. Awards were presented to the top three male and female runners overall; the top three male and female masters (over forty); the top three in age groups for every five years, and the top three male and female for Hallandale Beach residents and the same for Hallandale Beach employees. For the overall winners, the awards were plaques with horseshoes on top, and for the residents, employees and everyone else, the awards were custom-made medals. “By the way,” Jonathan added, “Our new chief of police, Dwayne Flournoy, won the overall male Hallandale Beach employee division.” Flournoy is also Hallandale Beach’s first African/American chief. Top male winners: Michael Korir 16:24; Rodolfo Gonzalez 18:18; and James Buchanan 18:21. Top female winners: Alexia Cruz 20:21 (she is only thirteen-years-old!); Larisa Sidorovich 22:06; and Alexys Guerra 22:07. These athletes really put on the speed. “The response we got back from the runners was just tremendous,” Mr. Carrillo said. “We’re hoping to easily double or triple the participation next year. You learn a lot from a first-time event. You know what your mistakes were and what you could do better. We’re real excited about next year’s event. We’re ready to do it right now—we learned so much from this. We hit a home run!”
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