The Parkway Half Marathon benefits your Parkway!

Over the past 17 years, the Parkway Half Marathon, the Tour de Parkway, and Sacfit have taken a leadership role in generating revenue to benefit the American River Parkway.

  • To begin, the Parkway Half Marathon was the first, and for nearly a decade, the only footrace in the region to raise and donate 100% of its proceeds to benefit the Parkway. With the addition of our three “virtual” Tour de Parkway races, the running total is over $390,000.

  • Next, Sacfit incorporated a Parkway Stewardship component into its training programs to educate its members and the community about the importance of individual support of the Parkway, which includes providing Parkway Pass purchase opportunities at all workouts. Since 2006, Sacfit has generated over $275,000 in Parkway Pass purchases, the most of any single organization. This revenue stream is vitally important as it goes directly to the County Parks and Recreation Department, which benefits the operational elements of the Parkway.

All of the proceeds from our projects and programs have contributed well over half a million dollars toward the operation, maintenance, enhancement, restoration, and beautification of the American River Parkway, and have also inspired other organizations to follow our lead in aligning funds to help benefit the Parkway.

We encourage everyone, whether individuals or organizations, to support the Parkway Half Marathon and Sacfit in helping benefit our American River Parkway! 

Donate

Individuals like yourself can donate anytime to the Parkway Fund. Just like the proceeds from the Parkway Half Marathon, the Parkway Fund aligns 100% of your donation toward projects that benefit the Parkway, such as the installation of new fountains. To that end, no funds are donated or used by any foundation or organization for salaries, operations costs, or race director fees – it all goes to the projects! 

 

Did you know?

Sacramento County Department of Parks and Recreation, along with thousands of volunteers from various organizations, including Sacfit and the Parkway Half Marathon, care for and support the American River Parkway each year. These public and private organizations work to support the conservation and enjoyment of the American River Parkway by fostering environmental, education, and stewardship for projects, such as:

  • Parkway pass program

  • Running trail maintenance

  • Trash clean-up

  • Burn-site restoration

  • Planting of native flora and trees

New Project – Repopulation of drinking fountains along the Parkway.

Over the past several years, many of you may have noticed your favorite drinking fountains that you’ve relied upon for refills have disappeared. Well, we’re bringing them back! Proceeds from the Parkway Half Marathon, the Tour de Parkway, and donations from the Parkway Fund are funding our ongoing project to repopulate the lost drinking fountains along the Parkway, as well as installing new fountains in areas that have never had them, but long overdue.

Phase one includes the placement of fountains between 14 and 20, one of the longest stretches along the Parkway without easy access to a water fountain.

Pictured below are the three most recent fountains (one at Riverbend Park near mile marker 14 and one at Hagan Park between mile marker 15.5 and 16, and one at El Manto Park next to mile marker 18), which includes a total of four spigots –  two regular fountains providing accessibility for all parkway users, another to fill your water bottle, and one for our loyal four-legged running and walking partners!

Hagan Park Fountain (Left-side picture) near mile marker 15.5, El Manto Park Fountain (Middle picture) at mile marker 18, and Riverbend Park Fountain (Right-side picture) near mile marker 14.

Have you ever enjoyed a run, ride, walk, or kayak trip on the American River Parkway?

If so, you know how important the American River Parkway is to the Sacramento area. It is referred to as Sacramento’s “crown jewel,” a “blueprint for urban parks,” and the greatest recreational asset to our community. The Parkway makes our region an ideal place to live, work, and play. 

Fun Facts – What does it really take to run the Parkway?

Each year, the American River Parkway sees millions of visits for activities such as running, walking, horseback riding, cycling, kayaking, and fishing. The Parkway is 23 miles long and expands over 4,800 acres of land and water. And it takes a lot of resources and volunteers to keep the Parkway open.

For example, in a typical year:

  • Over 28,000 rolls of toilet paper for all the restrooms costing approximately $28,000.

    • That’s over 900 miles of toilet paper – equivalent to almost 35 full marathons or the drive from Sacramento to Vancouver, Canada!

  • Over 32,000 trash bags costing nearly $27,000

  • Approximately 60,000 poop bags distributed to 12 dispensers along the Parkway

  • Over two dozen rangers to keep you safe

  • Removal of over 35,000 pounds of trash from the Parkway – equivalent to the weight of 9 cars!

  • 5,000+ volunteers donating over 15,000 hours

  • Removal of over 30,000 invasive plants from the Parkway such as yellow star thistle, stinkwort, and red sesbania

  • Clearing all 23 miles of running trails

We need your support to keep going! Register for the Parkway Half Marathon and give back to your American River Parkway.