Whether you moved to Seal Beach recently or have lived here for decades, chances are you know about Run Seal Beach, the annual local event that brings in thousands of dollars to our schools and non-profits. What you might not know is how the race started 42 years ago, and what goes on behind the scenes. The iconic run began in 1974 by a running club then called The Long Beach Leggers. It was called Seal Beach 10K and was a 10K only at that time. In the late 70s or early 80s the City of Seal Beach took the run over and made it a city event. In 1984 the 5K race was added.
Participants during those years used to run through the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, but the tragic events on Sept. 11, 2001 changed all that. Because of security concerns, in 2002 the race course changed to what it is today, a run along city streets in Old Town.
Three local residents who have long been associated with Run Seal Beach are Bill Ayres, Elizabeth Kane and Marc Loopesko. Ayres – sometimes called “the mayor of 7th Street” – went to the city and proposed taking over the race and making the organization a 501(c)3. Kane and Loopesko, neighbors of Ayres’ on 7th Street, ran the race (Loopesko actually was a timer first) and were starting to get more involved in the organization itself.
By 2008 Ayres had put in 25 years working on the race, and he wanted to travel with his wife, Gail. He asked Kane and Loopesko if they would take over the event. There were about 800 runners participating at that time. Kane had already been organizing aspects of the race, and Loopesko became “all in” in 2009.
Kane, 55, ran in the LA Marathon in 2002; an item on her bucket list. She and Loopesko threw themselves into the Seal Beach race and began making changes. The race name was changed to Run Seal Beach. The pair, both corporate executives at the time, began a marketing effort to get more runners to participate. Kane built a modern Web site and attendance in 2002 was up to 1,250 runners. By 2003 the pair had doubled the number of runners participating to 2,500. They added a Kids Run, then a Kids’ Fun Zone with supervised activities.
In 2003 the race began making money. “We made enough profit that we knew we wanted to give it back to the community,” Kane said. That year Run Seal Beach gave away $18,000 to seven 501(c)3 local non-profits, keeping only a couple thousand dollars as “seed money” for the next race.
Part of the success attributed to Kane and Loopesko was their vision that Run Seal Beach should be a family-friendly community event, not necessarily only for elite runners, but a true community event. They came up with the concept of teams running together (friends, business associates, running clubs, etc.) and that also increased the numbers of participants. The teams now make up 25 percent of the runner base. The race is capped now at roughly 6,000 runners (including the Kids Run) and usually sells out. In 2015 Run Seal Beach gave $140,000 to about 80 non-profits. Kane and Loopesko received 95 non-profit requests for funds. The Los Alamitos School District has received nearly $700,000 over the years. Registration is now online, streamlining what was once a logistical nightmare. In the past 13 years, Run Seal Beach has given about $1.4 million to recreation, fitness programs and facilities in Seal Beach and the local schools.
Sponsorships have also grown immensely. Team Abbey, running on behalf on The Abbey restaurant on Main Street, now has 186 runners, making it the largest team to participate.
Changes to the
organization
But Run Seal Beach is changing this year, as Kane and Loopesko have stepped aside to allow a new group of people to run the organization. It is a bittersweet move.
“There is a new generation that believes they can take the race to the next level, and I hope they are able to do that,” Kane said this week.
Loopesko, who credits Kane with the bulk of the pre-race organization work, says the important thing is that the race continues.
“For the past few years we have let it be known that we needed new people involved. No one had stepped forward until now,” Kane said. She and Loopesko are no longer members of the Run Seal Beach board, although they plan to run in the race this year on April 9.
“The bottom line is that this race is about the community,” Kane said. “It was a journey of love. My father was a minister who taught us it was our responsibility to give back.”
Ayres, 80, who has been with the race since the early days, had lavish praise for the work Kane and Loopesko have accomplished over the years they have been in charge.
“They put their heart and soul into this event,” Ayres said. “They obviously put on the race but they also gained participation and increased the income.”
Since Kane used to spend about 10 months and countless hours on organizing Run Seal Beach, she will find herself with some free time now. While she still works full-time in the corporate world, she still loves running, is an avid gardener, worked on the Centennial, and enjoys reading and other volunteer activities. Loopesko is also a runner and has retired from the corporate world. At 64 he is on a number of local boards, including the Seal Beach Police Foundation.
Greg Phillips is the new president of the board of Run Seal Beach. Directors are now Phillips, Seth Eaker, Michele Samuelson, Dana Neucere and Tim Kelsey.
Deb Machen is not on the board, but in charge of the vendor area at the race finish line. Phillips says the race has been so successful that he doesn’t plan to change a thing.
“I’ve helped Marc (Loopesko) in the past and I’m a long distance runner myself. We already are getting multiple registrations daily and I expect a very good turnout. We want to keep the vision that was passed down from Bill Ayres,” Phillips said.
