In the final stretch of the 5K run at California State University, East Bay on Sunday, a group of runners surrounded University President Leroy Morishita and funneled him across the finish line, a display of community support that echoed throughout the day’s event.

More than 300 university students, faculty and Bay Area runners filed into Pioneer Stadium for a 9 a.m. start time, doubling the number of 150 participants who partook in the first annual 5K run last year. A light mist showered the runners as they ran a campus course that began in the stadium, proceeded through the university service roads, through the East Bay campus and to the east side of the campus loop.

For the second straight year, Brett Hall, a graduate student at CSUEB, was crowned with a first place medal. Other notable runners of the 5K race were 2nd place finisher and Hayward native Zach Connelly and 13-year-old, first place women’s finisher Margo Donoghue.

“I think they had a lot more people out here on the course this year,” Hall said. “At first I was skeptical. I thought it was going to be a little bit harder because of the hills and stuff, but the way that they managed downhill was really good.”

Hall, a Kinesiology student at the university, credited the department for his running success during the past two events, insisting that everything his teachers taught him helped him become a healthier person.

Accompanying Hall in the three-mile event was Sports Information Director Marty Valdez. An employee with the athletic department for 32 years, Valdez credited everyone involved behind the scenes that put on the race for the second straight year.

“The enthusiasm from everyone who competed in the race was fantastic. Everybody was in a good mood,” Valdez said. “This was a team effort from the marketing department and the other organizations who participated. The program did a great job.”

For Valdez, preparation for the event was extensive, a process that manifested months prior to the April 27 race date.

“I think what the athletic department did was evaluate how it went last year and they just improved upon that. They have been working on this for months,” Valdez said.  “For the course, for the dates, how many runners we were going to have, and dealing with the public safety about the traffic going on during the race, it has been a long process.”

Jose Luis, who coordinates the marketing efforts for the athletic department, echoed Valdez’s caution in accommodating everyone in the community in order for everyone to fully enjoy and participate in the race proceedings.

“The goal for this year was to organize an affordable and fun 5K for the local East Bay community,” Luis said. “Though there were some hiccups on race day, overall I think the event was still a success. People were safe, active, and able to visit our great campus.”

Louis used last year’s race as a template to modify the running course to the best interest of both new and returning runners.

“There were some concerns that last year’s course was not very accessible for all of participants,” Louis admits. “For many of our participants the 5K at East Bay is their first organized race of any kind and we wanted to make sure that they had an enjoyable time. Maybe in the future we will look to incorporate the dirt hill again, but for now we will continue to use the 2014 course.”

The university athletic department plans to host a third annual 5K run next year, confident that more university and community members will partake in the three-mile course.

“More people are finding out about it and these people are telling their friends to run it next year, or walk it,” Valdez said. “The whole campus is geared toward the 5K race.”