On October 28, Rossmoor will become the course for the inaugural School Ghoul 5K & Fun Walk. It will benefit the Los Alamitos Unified School District, and is the brain-child of local realtor, Gus Quinonez. But the impetus for the race and the theme can actually be traced back more than 10 years.
Quinonez, once an elite runner in marathons and 5 and 10K runs, ran the Tustin Dino Dash 5K and when he received his trophy, it was a hand-made dinosaur that had been made by a local child. Quinonez had collected countless medals and trophies since his days as a cross-country star at Huntington Beach High. Still, the dinosaur stood out.
“It was just so adorable that a kid had made it,” said Quinonez’s wife, Beth.
Later, Quinonez had qualified for the Olympic trials. When Gus and Beth arrived at their hotel room, there were hand-made cards from local school children, offering support and encouragement in his efforts to reach the Olympics. All of this was before the Quinonez’s had children. But the efforts of those children stuck with them.
Fast forward to today and now Beth and Gus have two boys, Klaus, 12 and Kai, 10. Kai has been diagnosed with a rare blood disease called Aplastic Anemia. Since his diagnosis, Kai has undergone multiple treatments, and has received an overwhelming amount of support from the Los Alamitos community. Having seen the efforts of other children to support them, Gus and Beth had long wanted to find a way to offer their support back to their community.
This year, that effort has gone into organizing the School Ghoul 5K event, which will raise money to be used for all LAUSD schools. When Kai got sick, LAUSD schools and families came forward to offer help and support. Los Alamitos High students befriended and offered encouragement to Kai. The Quinonez family sees this as a way to say thanks.
“We needed to do something to give back to our community,” Beth said.
But it hasn’t been easy. They are looking to make the School Ghoul 5K, not only a solid school fundraiser, but an annual event that will grow and draw elite runners to the event. From the outset, Gus said they wanted to think big. Having been a competitive runner most of his life, a race event seemed like a natural fit.
The event was scheduled near Halloween because it is Kai’s favorite holiday. Runners who medal will receive ghoul medals. The event is 100 percent non-profit and all proceeds will benefit LAUSD. Those registering can designate $5 of their registration fee go to a specific school in the district, or to the Los Alamitos Education Foundation.
Beth grew up in Los Alamitos, attended LAUSD schools and still has family living in the area.
The epicenter of the event will be Rush Park in Rossmoor, where the start and finish lines will be located. There will be vendors booths, school PTO booths and Be The Match, national bone marrow registry will be on hand for potential donors to register. One of the treatments that could help Kai would be a bone marrow transplant, but registry could also help match any number of patients nationally, who require a bone marrow transplant. The effort to register as a potential donor requires a simple cheek swab.
As for the course itself, Quinonez said the flat area in Rossmoor should make for fast times for runners, which he hopes will encourage people to return in future years. Part of thinking big is the idea that this race could attract, more and better runners.
“We want it to get to be a big event, and that’s what we are hoping for,” Gus said.
For more information on registration or volunteering for the School Ghoul run, visit schoolghoullosalamitos.com. For sponsorship opportunities call 714-469-6061 or email to gus@quinonezgroup.com.
