The Race CourseStonegate Elementary: Race Start and Finish This race begins and ends at Stonegate Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where Ben started in first grade after his kindergarten diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or ALL. When Ben was in 4th grade, he relapsed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML and left the school halfway through the year and did not return—except for a few visits and tutoring sessions with his excellent 5th grade teachers. Ben was a big fan of Stonegate and had wonderful memories of the school and all his friends and teachers there.
Three Neighborhood Courses The 5K race will start in the school parking lot and go up Notley Road from the school and travel through the western side of the neighborhood. As the course reaches the halfway mark, runners can take advantage of a water stop at Jaystone Court where Ben’s family lives.
The course gets a little hilly as it goes up Fieldstone and turns right to go down Cobblestone, eventually making its way up Stonewall toward the school. The 5K will finish where it started - in the school parking lot.
The 5 Mile race will follow the same course as the 5K, but runners will continue past the school parking lot to the 1 k marker where they will turn around and retrace the route back to the finish line in the school parking lot.
The 1 mile course will start in the horseshoe in the front of the school. It will go down Notley from the school and turn right and go up Cobblestone to Fieldstone. It finishes at the intersection of Fieldstone and Notley just north of the school. It is a perfect length for smaller children and adults who would prefer a nice walk over a run.
Visit the Butterfly Garden Please take a few minutes to visit the Ben Goldfogle Memorial Butterfly Garden on the left side of the school behind the All Purpose Room. You can get to the garden from the bottom of the school parking lot. The garden was dedicated to Ben in the spring of 2010 and is a wonderful place to spend a few minutes thinking about his life and the lives of other children who face similar health risks.
A Big Thank You! An amazing group of volunteers have come together to make this race happen – from putting flyers on doors and promoting the race, to blowing up balloons and timing runners. It couldn’t have happened without their support!