AWESOME 3000
About the Awesome 3000
Each spring this event continues to be more than a fund raiser, bringing students, teachers, and the community together.
The pioneering Salem Schools Foundation board members organized the first 3,000-meter, youth-only run in the spring of 1983 as a fund-raising solution to keep Salem’s Baker School open. While the Foundation now provides grants for innovative programs throughout the entire Salem-Keizer School District, the Awesome 3000 remains its signature event.
The Awesome has grown from 350 runners in 1983 to more than 3,000 participants today. Since that first run, the Foundation and people from around the state have applauded tens of thousands of young winners who have crossed the finish lines. Each spring this event continues to be more than a fund raiser, bringing students, teachers, and the community together.
Recognized as one of the largest, timed, youth-only runs in the nation, the Awesome 3000 is a positive and challenging experience for all. Course distances of 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 meters are offered for elementary runners, while middle school students run the full 3,000 meters. Additional courses of 400 and 800 meters encourage special needs children to participate.
The community is invited to participate with the Awesome run as well, either as cheering supporters in the stands or as volunteers. Many volunteers return each year just to see the joy of the children as they cross the finish line and receive their very own medal. Many remember crossing the finish line themselves.
The Awesome 3000 T-shirt design is created each year by a high school student, chosen through a district-wide art competition.
Each year the times of every student who finishes is posted on this website.
Click here to view last years pictures!
"Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”
— Steve Prefontaine
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