If you want to get out and exercise this weekend while helping local businesses and charities, there are two events taking place in Lodi this weekend.
The California Farmland Trust is holding its second annual race to slow the pace over 5K/10K on September 25 in Bokisch Vineyards.
Charlotte Mitchell, CFT executive director, said the event’s name represents the organization’s efforts to slow the pace of urban development near historic agricultural land across the state.
“We run to protect farmland from urbanization,” she said. “Getting people out, especially in these countries, is so important. There’s grape harvest going on right now (in Lodi) and there’s just a lot of things happening in the agribusiness.”
Last year’s run, which also took place at the Bokisch winery, attracted around 200 participants. Mitchell said 200 have already registered for the 2022 event and she hopes more will want to register on Sunday.
Both the 5K and 10K runs start where the winery and vineyards meet and follow a manicured trail through the Bokish estate, ending at the picnic area.
Runners and registered guests will be served a paella lunch and celebrate with prizes and bokish wine.
Mitchell said Boksich Vineyards was chosen as the location for the run because owner Markus Bokisch and his wife Liz have long supported the organization.
“Both Markus and Liz have served on our board in the past,” she said. “They understand the mission of our organization and have been very supportive of us for a long time.”
Founded in 2004, the CFT is a coalition of farmland conservation advocates from across the state. According to www.cafarmtrust.org, the organization has protected 17,606 acres of land on 81 farms in six counties.
Check-in for the event begins at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday and the run begins at 8:30 a.m. Brunch is available at 10:00 am and the awards ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 10:30 am
Registration is $60 through Saturday and $65 Sunday morning. Virtual registration is also available for $45 until the maximum number of in-person participants is reached.
Young defenders of truth and justice will converge on Lodi Lake Saturday morning for the 8th Annual Superhero Run of Court Appointed Special Counsel.
The event starts at 8:30am, with the 5K at 9:00am and a Kids Dash at 10:15am
Participating children are encouraged to wear their favorite superhero costumes while running, visiting Superhero Alley and the Community Resource Fair also held on the day.
Medals for first, second and third place winners will be awarded.
If you can’t make it to the lake, CASA offers participants the opportunity to run virtually by choosing a day, time and location for the run from September 24th to October 8th.
Registration is $35 for adults, $20 for children under 12. Each runner will receive a CASA Superhero t-shirt and children under 12 will receive a CASA Superhero cape.
