MAYC Race Goes Virtual, support more important than ever

Everything looks a little different right now. The 25th annual Mahomet Area Youth Club Run fundraiser is no different.

But just because things are different, it does not automatically mean that they should cease to exist.

This is the approach that MAYC Race organizer Marla Dewhirst took in mid-March when planning for the end of July, early August run.

Instead of postponing the event or canceling it all together, MAYC decided to hold a virtual 5K, 10K and half-marathon event in 2020. 

“As a late summer race, all the foundation all got laid with all these spring races and has continued, and I am so glad now we made the choice we did,” Dewhirst said. 

Each year the MAYC run hosts about 500 runners, 300 volunteers and spectators. Dewhirst and the MAYC board knew that social distancing was not something they could do with the through town and rural route runners take. 

“Our numbers anywhere from 800 to 1000 people congregated in very small space,” she said. “And then, a lot of our volunteers are those that would be high risk because in this community the big volunteer base are people 65 and over, me included. So you’re taking your most vulnerable and putting them out in front of people that you just don’t know. So it was a good decision.”

With a virtual race, both runners and walkers could still support a great cause, exercise and keep socially distance at their own start and finish line.

The event just needs to be completed by August 1.

Dewhirst said other alternatives were discussed: taking another route that would allow for more social distancing, staggering start times, getting a new route certified, but each idea, including canceling the race for 2020 took away from Mahomet’s non-profit youth organization that provides both childcare and educational opportunities for children in need.

“We’re working on a very tight profit line already to try to make a budget line,” Dewhirst said.

“A little budget better than no budget.”

Annually, about 70-percent of funds to help the Mahomet Area Youth Club operate come from fundraisers and donations, including the MAYC Race.

“To take that away, or even some of that will really impact, what we can do,” MAYC Executive Director Sara Balgoyen said.

Sponsorships will help cover the costs associated with the race, which Dewhirst is trying to keep to a minimum. Virtual negates the needs for hydration stations, porta potties and aide stations. 

The savings went back to the runner. The registration fee was reduced to $37 across the board to help entice people to run. Participants who register by July 17 will also get a MAYC shirt and a 25th anniversary medal.

MAYC hopes to reach the 200 runner/walker mark by August 1. 

The group always sets the goal at raising $30,000 each year. 

Since 1996, the race has been able to support summer programming for youth.

Balgoyen said that MAYC hopes to bring in half of that this year, and has already reduced its entire operating budget by 30-percent for the next year. 

“I have to go find that money somewhere else. So we’re gonna have to apply for new grants,” she said.

Balgoyen said that the club might also add another fundraising event later this year. 

“We’re going have to make that money up somehow.”

If the expense cannot be made up, MAYC might have to serve fewer kids, even when the need may be greater than ever. 

“If we don’t have the funds to staff those programs at acceptable ratios then we just won’t be able to serve as many kids,” she said. “We really think it’s going to be pretty important to have some after school or maybe during the day programming like again depends on what the school plan is.”

The other alternative would be to charge families who are in the most need of support.

Currently, MAYC is hosting a summer program to members who are in need of child care so that they can work during the day. In partnership with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department, they are also offering free lunches to children under the age of 18 Monday through Friday. 

The Mahomet-Seymour School District has decided to not move forward with BLAST after-school programming in the 2020-21 school year. But the district does have a plan to host Kids Club, at this time. MAYC provides scholarships for children who need those services. 

While MAYC does not know exactly what mid-August will bring with back-to-school plans or the phase the Central region on Illinois will be in, they are looking at ways to potentially help with childcare should students not be able to be in school all day every day. 

“This also might be an opportunity for MAYC to support  in some way,” Balgoyen said. “We might be coming up with whole new programs that we’ve never done before, or piggybacking off of after school programs or adapting them in some way. So, it’s possible, and maybe with partnerships we would be able to actually serve as many if not more kids depending on what happens.”

Once Mahomet-Seymour Schools decide what they will be able to offer, Balgoyen said that if the funds are there, MAYC will look at how they, too, can serve the community.

“Between today and yesterday, I had three families reach out, that are not MAYC families to ask about childcare in the school year if things are different, if there’s half days or whatever,” Balgoyen said. “So people are really worried about that and we will try to help. If we can in some way.”

Dewhirst said part of the message is it is a time that children still need services.

“We hope our people who have supported us in the past will support us again,” Dewhirst.

She also said that it’s an opportunity for those who have never thought about participating in the MAYC Races to consider what it can do for their health, their family and the community.

“This is a fun thing to get out: you can walk it, you can do a mile a day for 13 days, and say you’ve done a half marathon, or you can do the challenge,” she said.

Part of the fun of being with a group of people during a race is that runners try to catch the person in front of them. Since that is not possible this year, MAYC is offering a special medal to those who complete the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon. The Challenge medal and ribbon also include charms for every run.

And because everyone who completes one race gets a medal for the first time this year, Dewhirst believes it’s a great opportunity for families to collect that memory for years to come.

Lincoln Trail Elementary Principal and MAYC Board member Megan Hunter said that in all the instability, this is something the community can also do for themselves. 

Hunter is running the 10K this year. 

“What better way to celebrate 25 years of this race and help out MAYC by doing this?” Hunter said.

“There’s always a certain amount of stress that everybody has with their jobs and family and, things like that, but this situation has really been stressful for people,” Hunter said. “So I think anytime people can get active. It’s a great stress reliever So, even if it’s, you know, going out and walking to five K and it takes you, an hour to do it it’s that feeling when you’re done. That kind of makes it worth it.”

The MAYC Executive board, on the suggestion of Treasurer Brady Allison, decided to run the race together this year. Normally, the board is busy planning and volunteering their time during the race. 

After nine years on the MAYC board, Allison said that there’s nothing like walking into the clubhouse.

“I just want to make sure that people understand how important the club is to the community and to continue to support the club,” he said. 

“Obviously money helps, but, volunteers also help.”

The time he spends at the club helping Balgoyen with numbers brings him the most joy.

“To see the kids there and having fun, enjoying themselves, that’s worth it right there,” he said.