Strawberry Stampede

The Strawberry Stampede was started in 1987 by the Sports Stop, a retail sports store that was located in the Arroyo Grande Village. The business eventually closed, at which point Ben Horner, a local competitive Triathlete and member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Pismo Beach, picked up the race and proposed the idea as a fund raiser to Kiwanis. Th... e Kiwanis club took on the race for the first time in 1991 and has consistently grown the event each year. 100% of the money raised by this event is put back into the local community in support of youth causes. Our current Race Director, Ted Kapner, is a (washed-up, has-been) former triathlete and serious motorcycle fanatic. Ted has been directing the Strawberry Stampede since 1997 and is a past president of the Kiwanis of Greater Pismo Beach (2002-2003), was awarded Kiwanian of the year (2001), The Distinguished Service Award (2014) and served as the club's Secretary for over 10 years. The Success of the Strawberry Stampede is attributed to the efforts of the volunteer members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Pismo Beach and the efforts of other volunteer groups and individuals, including the Arroyo Grande High School Key Club and the Boy Scouts Troop 413. The Strawberry Stampede enjoys an excellent reputation in the running community, again mostly due to the volunteers who are there before dawn on race day working to make it all run smoothly. It simply wouldn't work without them. The money raised to support local youth activities is wonderful. But, almost as important, we are providing a service to the community by putting on an event that hundreds of people look forward to participating in each year. If you are interested in volunteering, or sponsorship opportunities, please contact us via the contact form on our home page.Read More