Participants in this year’s Moonlight Run reflect on why they exercise together

After Yudy Deng moved to Palo Alto in 2018, she settled into the community through running. The mom and marathon runner would routinely train at the Cubberley Community Center’s track on most weekday mornings after dropping off her children at school. That’s where she met a dozen or so other marathon runners who met up regularly through BURN Running, a group that organizes running meetups with a focus on helping Asian American runners connect within the community.

Deng’s morning runs with the group have since morphed beyond the track.

Running, she explained, has helped members of the group who have moved here from other places assimilate to their new surroundings, and now, they want to use the sport to give back to the community they call home.

Through fundraising events, Deng and her running buddies have raised $10,000 in collaboration with the Asian American Youth Soccer Academy to refurbish the Cubberley track. And as summer winds down, Deng and some of the group’s runners are participating in their first Moonlight Run & Walk benefit, which takes place virtually and in person at the Palo Alto Baylands on Sept. 9, to help raise funds for local nonprofits dedicated to helping kids and families in the Peninsula.

“We want the local community to know that although we’re not from here, now we live here … so we’re going to contribute,” said Deng, who is taking part in the event virtually.

While running is one way for Deng to connect with her culture and community, for others, it is a way to connect as a family.

Los Altos resident Michelle Bodine, who along with her husband, children and in-laws, also will be participating in the Moonlight Run virtually from the family vacation home in Montana this year, said running and hiking have proved to be a key way for her whole family to spend time together.

The Moonlight Run, in particular, was a family favorite while her children were growing up because it combined their love of running with astronomy, she said.

“As I raised my kids, I taught them lots about the moon and enjoying the night sky, and also about being active and how important it is to exercise,” she said.

Even now, as arthritis has made it difficult for her to run, the family still spends time exercising together.

“We love exercising together,” she said.

For Palo Alto resident Vivian Neou and her family, the Moonlight Run also is an important tradition. She met her husband while running the Stanford Dish Trail, and she participated in her first Moonlight Run with him. Since then, the couple has never missed the race. The couple’s two sons also participate in the annual event. Neou said one year, one of her sons even flew back from the middle of his trip to Japan so he wouldn’t miss the event.

“He literally flew back from Japan, ran, then hopped on an airplane to go back to Japan because he was traveling with friends,” Neou said.

For local mom Laurie Phillips, the Moonlight Run provides an opportunity for generations of her family to unite. Phillips is planning to participate in the 5K walk with her husband, their children and her parents.

Phillips said she appreciates how the event is welcoming to runners and hikers of all ages and levels of experience.

“It’s just wonderful how you can do it with three generations,” she said. “That’s pretty cool that there are events that everyone can do together.”

This year’s Moonlight Run & Walk is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9, at the Palo Alto Baylands. The event features a 5K walk, 5K run, 10K run and half marathon. For more information and to sign up, visit paloaltoonline.com/moonlight_run.