A cohort of runners starts across the track at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush's Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
Thousands of students took to the track Saturday morning for the annual Awesome 3000 fun run, raising money for grants to local teachers in the process.
Runners from toddlers to high school turned out for the event, put on by United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley. Races began at McCulloch Stadium and wound through the meadows and forests of Bush’s Pasture Park.
The 2023 Awesome 3000 raised about $35,000 for teachers in the Salem-Keizer School District. Race fees go toward grants, with sponsors covering the cost of the event.
Running with a friend makes the Awesome 3000 race more fun for N. Tokyo, 6, and I. Engichy, 6, at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Parents and race participants get matching wristbands before dropping off race participants for the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)E. John leads the pack with other cohorts entering the back course during the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Awesome 3000 racers wait their turn to line up at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Stands were full of spectators cheering on Awesome 3000 racers at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)N. Franco, 7, makes sure to get a high five before heading into the home stretch at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)E. Walsh, 11, runs the back course in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)O. Remlinger shows a strong start ahead of the cohort during the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A full stadium of supporters at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter) A. Burton, 11, runs the back course in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A volunteer helps visitors at the United Way Awesome 3000 race information booth at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Awesome 3000 volunteer t-shirts await pickup by participants at the United Way information booth at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)T. Lopez Cisneros, 7, sprints to first place in their class at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A participant in the Awesome 3000 race deals with windy conditions at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)C. Kumler, 7, wet but happy, makes sure to get a high five before heading into the home stretch at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Fifth-grade boys at the Awesome 3000 start line wait to start their race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The fifth-grade girls race gets underway at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A. Scholerman, 10, runs the back course in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)T. Sackett, 12, first place in the middle and high school girls’ class in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Aron Arreguin, 12, first place, and Jordon Larson, 14, second place in the middle and high school boys’ class in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A little pre- race excitement on the field before running the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Micah Kolb, 14, finishing in fourth place place in the middle and high school boys’ class in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A fast-moving race participant reaches out for a high five before heading into race at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A participant in the unified run crosses the Awesome 3000 finish line at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter) Josiah Contreras, 14, crosses the finish line at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A. Mobley, 5, crosses the finish line at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)B. Stewart, 5, and cohorts start their race at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Participants in the unified run start their warmup exercises at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Participants in the unified run at the start line during the Awesome 3000 at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter) M. Brown shows off a medal after running in the Awesome 3000 at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Finishing with a friend made the Awesome 3000 race much more awesome for these two participants at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A cohort of second graders runs past in the in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter) Volunteers provided plenty of encouragement for participants all along the course at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A participant in the unified run receives a finisher’s medal from Salem Keizer Deputy Superintendent Iton Udosenata after running at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Participants in the unified run wait at the start line during the Awesome 3000 at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A. Lopez, 8, crosses the finish line at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)C. Rodriguez, 7, crosses the finish line at the Awesome 3000 race at Bush’s Pasture Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
