Here's everything you need to know about the Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run & Walk, which will take place at the Palo Alto Baylands, starting at the Baylands Athletic Center, 1900 Geng Road, at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 29.

Proceeds from the charity event will go to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, which supports local nonprofit organizations serving children, families and individuals in need. This past year, the Weekly Holiday Fund granted nearly $800,000 dollars to nonprofits.

Thousands turn out to run, walk or cheer on athletes. It's a community event that will be fun for the whole family.

To register for the 5K walk or run, the 10K run or the half marathon, go to the Moonlight Run registration page. There's also a virtual option to participate, for those unable to attend the event.

What’s happening and when

5:30 p.m. Registration opens. Activities, sponsors’ booths and more on the field (see below).

6:45 p.m. Pre-walk warmups.

7 p.m. 5K walk begins.

7:15 p.m. Pre-race warmups.

7:30 p.m. Half marathon begins.

8 p.m. Pre-race warmups.

8:15 p.m. 5K run begins.

8:25 p.m. 10K run begins.

8:45 p.m. Food tables open for 5K and 10K runners. Snacks are provided by Hobee’s, Country Sun Natural Foods, House of Bagels, and coffee is provided by Connoisseur Coffee Co.

9:30 p.m. Awards ceremony for the top three finishers in each category. Race results will be posted as available.

Field activities and booths

• Food trucks: The Cookout, Cousins Maine Lobster and Luv's Brownies.

• Climbing wall

• JCC instructors will lead warmups

• Information booths

• Sponsor booths: Stanford Health Care (Lead Sponsor), AGILE Physical Therapy, Bank of the West, Connoisseur Coffee Co., DeLeon Realty, Harker, Hobee’s, Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto Weekly, Print to Inspire, Stanford Federal Credit Union, The Six Fifty, Wealth Architects,

Other things to know

Parking: Police and volunteers will direct you to parking in nearby business lots off Embarcadero and East Bayshore roads. Plan on arriving early and carpooling if possible, as lots will fill up. We recommend arriving at least an hour before your event. Please avoid parking in Stanford Eye Clinic lots.

Bicycle parking: Bike parking area is available.

Race-night registration: 5K walk: $45. 5K run: $50. 10K run: $50. Half marathon: $60.

Check-in: Race check-in, sponsor and race headquarters booths, first aid and food/water are on the infield of the Baylands Athletic Center, located at the end of Geng Road.

T-shirts: T-shirts are available with registration only while supplies last. Sizing is also not guaranteed as it is first come, first served. T-shirts for participants who register early but are a no-show will not be held. Children running free do not receive T-shirts.

Starting line: The start and finish of all four events are in the (closed) parking lot at the Baylands Athletic Center. All events will head out south on Geng, turn east on Embarcadero and then head out onto trails and levees south toward Mountain View. (See the course map for more details.)

Storage: Limited checking of small personal bags and backpacks is available.

Pets: Dogs are permitted on the 5K walk but not on any of the runs, where the terrain and darkness make it too dangerous to have them. No retractable leashes. Bring your own cleanup bag.

Strollers: Jogging strollers welcome on the 5K walk or at the back of the runs.

Visibility: Headlamps are highly recommended for all runs.

The race routes: 3 ways to explore the Baylands

All events begin and end in the large parking lot next to the Bayland Athletic Center, at the end of Geng Road. Water/aid stations are situated approximately every 2.5 miles, except on the 5K route, where there is one before the 2-mile mark.

5K walk & run

The 5K course follows the San Francisquito Creek levee past the north side of the Palo Alto Golf Course and the airport, and after the 1-mile mark, it turns to the south and passes the Baylands Interpretive Center. The trail then connects with Embarcadero Road just before the 1-mile mark, passes the duck pond and follows Embarcadero west past the airport and golf club. The finish is along Geng Road, back to the Baylands Athletic Center parking lot.

10K run & half marathon

The 10K and half marathon runs each start south along Geng Road from the Baylands Athletic Center parking lot, take a short jog west on Embarcadero Road, then turn south on Faber Way. The course then enters the Baylands and follows a mostly straight paved path that includes a roughly 1-mile stretch next to the East Bayshore frontage road. At the 2-mile mark, where Adobe Creek flows to the bay, the trail turns sharply to the west onto a dirt levee and reaches the first water station. It then traverses the outer reaches of the Baylands, eventually turning back to the north, crossing a slough on a pedestrian bridge and then turning west toward Byxbee Park.

The two runs split at the second water station at about 4.5 miles into the run as the course approaches Byxbee Park.

The 10K route: 10K runners go straight and follow the Byxbee Park access road back to Embarcadero Road. A small turnaround occurs in front of the small airport terminal and then runners proceed west on Embarcadero Road, back to Geng Road and to the finish.

The half marathon route: Half marathoners turn left at the split (at the second water station) and follow a trail that goes west along a slough that takes runners back to the first leg of the run along East Bayshore Road for a second lap. When they reach the Byxbee Park water station for the second time they turn left again on the Slough Trail. But just past mile 11 and prior to going all the way to East Bayshore Road, the final leg of the half marathon course turns to the north, goes up and down Byxbee Hill and then rejoins the 10K route on the Byxbee Park access road. It does the same turnaround and then follows Embarcadero Road west to Geng Road and the finish. Note: Half marathoners who reach the split at the 9.5 milepost after 9:30 (two hours after the race’s 7:30 p.m. start) will be diverted and follow a shorter route to the finish line.

Race results

Results of the in-person races will be available on computer monitors at the Baylands Athletic Center beginning at around 9:30 p.m. on race night. Results also will be posted online at bit.ly/3LrQFyG.

Medals for first-, second- and third-place finishers in each division will be handed out once final results are in, between 9:30 and 10 p.m. To maintain fairness to in-person runners, virtual participants will not be eligible for awards and will not be able to submit times.

Last year's fastest times

Here’s a look at the top Moonlight Run & Walk finishers from each running event in 2022.

5K: Men

1. Neville Davey 00:16:23.88

2. William Bottrell 00:18:01.27

3. Adam Bechtel 00:18:03.32

4. Neel Fulton 00:19:05.16

5. Dylan Glanville 00:19:40.77

6. Evan Frank 00:20:22.83

7. Andrew Ehrich 00:20:26.31

8. Jonathan Brown 00:20:30.11

9. David Lande 00:21:09.36

10. Gabriel Arreguin 00:21:20.80

5K: Women

1. Rebecca Tisdale 00:20:57.03

2. Stephanie Loseille 00:21:45.29

3. Meghan Poon 00:21:50.44

4. Maggie Pierre 00:22:50.47

5. Katelyn Pegg 00:23:00.96

6. Anna Jaffe 00:23:07.48

7. Kristy Choi 00:23:08.15

8. Jessica Chen 00:23:12.19

9. Guicheng Sheng 00:23:18.54

10. Gabriel Raygada 00:23:28.46

10K: Men

1. Eric Buysse 00:35:11.96

2. Rory Runser 00:38:02.26

3. Dillon Hu 00:39:45.61

4. Giancarlo Delfin 00:39:49.67

5. Chengxi Li 00:40:16.15

6. Jason Reed 00:40:58.65

7. Max Vroemen 00:41:01.50

8. Scott Hannan 00:41:13.54

9. Dallin Lunt 00:41:24.11

10. Mark Johnson 00:41:24.78

10K: Women

1. Jenna Harris 00:42:01.67

2. Katherine Debski 00:45:11.02

3. Erin Kyle 00:45:27.16

4. Jennifer Yih 00:45:56.93

5. Lauren Ho 00:46:20.66

6. Alison Hwong 00:47:09.66

7. Jennifer Heyes 00:47:33.46

8. Paige Yun 00:47:59.47

9. Meg Kawamoto 00:48:03.27

10. Joy Yu 00:48:07.88

Half marathon: Men

1. Paul Leblond 01:19:41.61

2. Matt Jones 01:28:13.96

3. Luke Kirincich 01:28:44.55

4. Henry Van Den Bedem 01:33:04.99

5. Lucas Coan 01:35:44.69

6. Ben Davies 01:37:45.05

7. Patrick Grady 01:37:52.23

8. Yannis Flet-Berliac 01:38:12.55

9. Quinton Isaacs 01:38:18.67

10. Victor Meyerfreund 01:38:34.45

Half marathon: Women

1. Sara Kato 01:33:14.00

2. Ellen Kuhl 01:40:47.99

3. Renee Kimbrough 01:42:07.17

4. Kathryn Kirby 01:47:54.23

5. Alicia Grames 01:48:59.70

6. Susan Oba 01:52:33.41

7. Kristin Haskell 01:54:20.05

8. Stephanie Brill 01:55:08.62

9. Maureen Reynick 01:55:08.83

10. Janet Titzler 01:57:45.21

Thank you to our sponsors

Lead sponsor

Stanford Health Care

Corporate sponsors

City of Palo Alto

Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto Online

AGILE Physical Therapy

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

DeLeon Realty

Kaiser Permanente

The Six Fifty

Stanford Federal Credit Union

Wealth Architects

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati Foundation

Event sponsors

Bank of the West

Connoisseur Coffee Co.

Country Sun Natural Foods

Harker

Hobee’s

House of Bagels

Oshman Family Jewish Community Center

Pizza My Heart

Print to Inspire

Community sponsors

Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto

Thank you to our volunteers

Youth Community Service (YCS)

Palo Alto Kiwanis Club

Palo Alto Run Club

Troop 57 / Troop 4057 Scouts of America