The 29th year of Coronado Rotary’s Low Tide Ride and Stride event is scheduled on Coronado Beach this July 18, with an estimated 1,000 participants.
“The beginning has the Coronado cheerleaders cheering you on and the American flags are lining the course,” said Coronado resident Stephanie Anderson. “And then again, we have the American flags and a boom box with lots of fun music at the turnaround point. Along the way, we have water stations.”
Participants run, bike or walk a 5K course (3.1 miles) at North Beach, receiving a medal after they cross the finish line. The race is followed by music with a live DJ, plus a kids zone, vendors and raffle giveaways at Sunset Park (101 Ocean Blvd).
Anderson, chairing this year’s event, said normally the Low Tide Ride and Stride is held in June but it was pushed back to July because the lowest tide of June was the same weekend as NASCAR.
“This is our 29th year and we hope that this will go on forever,” said Anderson. “It’s like a Coronado staple of the summer.”
Coronado Rotary’s largest fundraiser
This year, Anderson said, the goal is to welcome 1,000 participants and raise over $200,000.
The Low Tide Ride and Stride program was created in 1997 by Coronado rotarian Bob Krantz, according to the club’s centennial celebration exhibit. Krantz, a cyclist, hang-glider and kayaker, envisioned a bike ride from Imperial Beach to Coronado as a new and exhilarating fundraiser for the club.
The original race course was launched as the “Low Tide Ride” and covered 8.2 miles of beach terrain from YMCA Camp Surf, through the Amphibious Base, to Coronado’s North Beach.
According to the exhibit, a post-race celebration at Sunset Park, featuring games, music, food, and community booths for participants, volunteers, and spectators has remained constant. But the course has been modified for accessibility and safety.
It was shortened to a 5-mile route from Silver Strand State Beach to North Beach in 2018 and then to a 5K round-trip from North Beach past the Hotel del Coronado and back in 2022.
According to the exhibit, early fundraising beneficiaries included polio eradication efforts and an artificial limb clinic in Mexico. Now, proceeds primarily support local military and first responders.
Last year, the event had 934 participants and it raised approximately $194,000, according to Anderson.
Anderson, who was born and raised in Coronado and returned to the island in 2011, said she participated in the event with her family before becoming an organizer four years ago.
“It’s amazing because it is the Coronado community, so you’ve got all your friends and neighbors hanging out there, being outside, being healthy, being together,” said Anderson. “Also, we get lots of visitors from San Diego come over to spend the day and maybe have lunch after the race in Coronado. And then also we have our wonderful visitors from further away.”
Anderson said Rotary contributes hundreds of volunteer hours to bring forward the annual Low Tide Ride and Stride, its largest fundraiser.
Registration closes July 18
Anderson said participants can show up and start picking up their bib numbers and their t-shirts as early as 6:30 a.m. on race day. People can also register for the race that morning, she added.
“We keep the price very low just because we really want everyone in the community to be able to participate,” said Anderson about prices, which increased after June 30.
According to the event’s website, people can register from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, July 17 in the U.S. Bank parking (800 Orange Ave.) and pick up pre-race day materials.
Participants 17 years old or under pay $33.63. Entrants 18 years old or over pay $49.64.
Registration ends at 8:30 a.m. on July 18.
Last year, cheerleaders with black, green and white pom poms greeted Low Tide Ride and Stride participants beside a sand path lined with American flags on Coronado Beach.
Anderson said at 8 a.m. bikers pedal on the Coronado shoreline. They head south in a 5K course that begins and ends at North Beach. After five minutes, people who walk and run take off in the same direction.
The Coronado Shores cues the halfway mark where American flags signal participants to turn around and head back where the race begins.
“We always like to thank the Coronado Police and Fire Department and lifeguards because of course they are a huge part of making this a fun and safe event,” said Anderson.
To learn more, visit: https://lowtideride.com/.
