Carlmont students and community members saw months of work pay off at the seventh annual Belmont Water Dog Run, a volunteer-led fundraiser.
In addition to 5K and 10K timed races, the community event featured a 1-mile course for younger runners and a Fido course where pups raced alongside their athletes.
“You see the same people over and over and over again,” said Huan Phan, the head of the interns. “It feels like the community reconnects.”
Volunteers set up water stations, awarded medals, and were the first to guide the racers on and off the course. Behind the scenes, Carlmont students collaborated with community board members for months to organize race day.
“I didn’t know there were people behind the scenes and students working on the run. It was really cool to be able to make an impact in my community,” said Sanvi Adusumilli, a senior on the data team.
The student internship program includes a digital, marketing, operations, and design team. Their responsibilities include handling brand design, analyzing data models of past runs, pushing out promotions, and communicating with community board members to manage tasks.
“If I send an email blast out but I don’t include the start times, then, yeah, that matters,” Adusumilli said. “I see that I do have a visible impact on the run. And it’s just like one day out of the whole year, but it does take a lot of planning and careful logistics beforehand.”
The internship allows students to explore points of interest and see their work reflected in the community. Cricket Lee, a senior on the design team, joined after discovering a passion for art.
“I love using art to give back to my community, so I thought the Belmont Water Dog Run would be a perfect opportunity for that,” Lee said.
Community board members created the Water Dog Run to build community through an annual race. Chamber of Commerce member Karen Schornstein was there for its beginnings.
“We wanted to get an event going seven years ago, and that’s when we formed the committee and started planning the race over a year in advance,” Schornstein said.
In recent years, the run has grown considerably in registrations and reach, partly due to the contributions of high school students.
“It started small, and we didn’t have a lot of publicity. Getting the high school involved has been huge in getting the word out there,” Schornstein said.
In its third year, the internship began as a means for students to get field experience and promote the run.
“We needed help, particularly with social media and design,” Phan said. “Mr. Rowe had a business class, and he was like, ‘You know, my business class does business plans and marketing, and the kids compete.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, why don’t you come and do it for real?'”
The internship program has more than doubled in size since, from the six students who contributed to the 2022 race to the fourteen who worked on the 2024 race. The race’s turnout has also grown. According to Phan, registration rose by over 10%, surpassing last year’s increase.
“We talked to our racing contractors, and they tell us that we’re one of the few runs that have not only reached the pre-pandemic level, but we’ve gone by it,” Phan said. “And the only change from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic has been the work of the kids.”
Over a thousand participants showed up ready to race in the morning’s chill. There were returning families who race annually and new runners who heard about the event through its various publicity modes.
“They’re not necessarily your direct neighbors, but they live in a community. You see people you haven’t seen in a long time. The race after the pandemic, you really felt like people were really glad to see each other again.” Phan said.
Last year, the Water Dog Run raised over $30k in community grants given to local academic and athletic organizations. Among these was mental wellness support for the Carlmont Academic Foundation, weight room equipment for Sandpiper Middle School, and a mobile magnetic wall for Carlmont Parents Nursery School.
“My favorite grants are the scholarships that we get out to AYSO and Belmont Redwood Shores Softball. These grants are, essentially, to fund registration fees for kids who otherwise couldn’t afford them,” Phan said.
Community volunteers played a crucial role in the run’s success. Clare Abram, vice president of the Belmont Runner’s Club, led over 100 volunteers.
“I have about 46 volunteers, and that’s just the course monitors that are standing at all their key positions to make sure that the runners know where they’re going,” Abram said. “It’s super cool to have a really local event. It’s kind of fun to get involved in it.”
Course monitor Arminda King encouraged runners on the track.
“I run races myself, so I always appreciate the volunteers who are really enthusiastic. So I feel like I’m finally paying it back,” King said. “It’s one of my favorite races because it’s so nice that it’s so local.”
The Carlmont drumline also came to pep up runners during the last stretch of the race.
“They’ve had the cheerleaders out before and the drum line. I think that’s really sweet,” King said.
Athletes and volunteers shared smiles over pancakes and orange juice as the run closed.
“The first year I ran the race, I was chasing this kid,” Phan said. “He was like 11, maybe 12, and he beat me. And the next year, there he was again, and then he beat me again. I see him at the race every year. I would say that’s memorable. The same people, familiar faces.”
