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Rinas Run takes place May 8 at Ripon High
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RIPON – Dust off those running shoes and start stretching

The Ripon Community Athletic Fund is still seeking sponsors for Rina’s Run on May 8 – the group’s largest annual fundraiser named after longtime Riponite and philanthropist Rina Brocchini – that is being held to bring awareness to the campaign being undertaken to renovate both the field and track at Stouffer Field.

Last year the event – which includes a 5-kilometer race/walk and a 10K run – pulled in more than $15,000 towards the project that aims to update the aging community stadium that plays host to multiple football teams during the fall season and includes a track with little natural drainage that leads to large puddles in the spring.

“We just want to have something that can be a source of community pride as well as something safe and nice that our kids can enjoy,” RCAF President Stephanie Hobbs said. “We’re still driving forward with our plans, and we have some things that we’re still working on that could end up bringing us closer to our goal.”

And Hobbs believes that the event that starts and ends at Ripon High, which is being held to create a central community stadium, couldn’t have been named after a better person.

“She was such a beautiful person, and she did so much for this community,” Hobbs said. “To bring people together every year under her name is an amazing thing.”

Fundraising still continues through both private financial donations and in-kind donations that already exceed $200,000. The organization has implemented a donor recognition program that includes a sliding scale that starts at $50 with an on-site marker and continues all the way up to the $500,000 mark which includes naming rights to the stadium (though it will always be referred to as Stouffer Field.)

Plus there’s always the possibility of a partnership with the city.

Last year the City of Turlock agreed to put forth $2.8 million from their redevelopment fund towards the renovation of the aging Joe Debely Stadium – a move that landed the city and pro-stadium opponents in Stanislaus County Superior Court before a judge ultimately ruled that the city acted properly and within the RDA guidelines.

Registration information for Rina’s Run – as well as a PayPal link that will allow people to donate money to the group electronically – can be found at www.rcafsite.com. Advance registration is $15 for those 17 and under and $20 for those18 and over. The entry fee includes a T-shirt. Race day registration is $25.