Marin Hummel
Staff Writer

Runners streamed though the Cal Poly Pomona campus Saturday to participate in the annual Matt’s Run, a scholarship fund-raiser held in the memory of Cal Poly student Matthew Myers who was hit by a car in a crosswalk at the university.

Myers had a love for education and a passion for running. He was dedicated to his physical fitness. He entered Cal Poly to pursue higher education in the communications department. On Oct. 6, 2005, while walking crossing the crosswalk at Kellogg Drive, he was hit by a car and never recovered from his head injuries. He was 20 years old.

“This race is very competitive,” said David Ronero a junior aerospace engineer major from Cal Poly, who ran in Matt’s Run, a 5K event. “This is my first time running in this race. I found out about it from a couple of my friends. This race provides a great scholarship program for students at Cal Poly.”

Ronero came in 6th place in the race.

Now in its second year, the fund-raiser brought in more than $26,000. With the money this year, a scholarship of $500 was awarded to six students on the basis of their desire to use their knowledge for the betterment of others.

This scholarship is not based on academic performance, although recipients must have at least a 2.7 GPA and the drive to enrich their knowledge. The award committee wants to provide help to students like Myers who wanted to learn and grow as a person so he could help others.

Matt’s Run was advertised everywhere from YouTube, MySpace and Facebook to Starbucks. In a San Dimas Starbucks, cashiers handed out flyers for Matt’s Run with order receipts. Walking along the street in San Dimas, there were posters for Matt’s Run on the windows of many businesses.

This year there was 447 registered runners and 381 runners who participated in the race. With times ranging from 17 minutes to 1 hour, 16 minutes, there was a wide range of athletic ability. People ran, jogged and walked.

"I heard about Matt’s Run online,” said Cory Martinez, a freshman animal science major from Cal Poly. “I ran cross country in high school for four years, so this sounded like fun. It’s my first time doing Matt’s Run, but I have participated in other runs.” Martinez came in 4th place in the race.

Martinez’s mother even came out to watch him participate in the run.

“I love watching him run,” Jackie Martinez said. “You also see a lot of the same people at all the races.”

Marin Hummel can be reached at mhummel@ulv.edu.