‘Huge Success’: Dublin Distance Fiesta Continues To Make Waves

DUBLIN, CA — It was the first year the Dublin Distance Fiesta ran for two days and organizers are calling it a major success.

One of the largest races of its kind in the country, the 14th annual race at Dublin High School hosted nearly 3,000 students from 150 high schools.

“I really just love it. Everyone is so pumped and it’s just a great event,” DHS' Head Track and Field Coach Chris Williams said.

Williams told Patch the race is different from others in the way it’s set up. The meets are designed to have like abilities in each heat, meaning more races and more wins.

“It’s super competitive and also allows opportunities for kids who might not normally get a chance to win, to win their heat,” he said.

There were 160 races over the course of the two days and among them, a big handful of personal records.

“Every runner from Dublin High set a personal record,” Williams said. “We had a PR gong the racers could hit and it was just ringing for two hours straight.”

The race started in 2008 at Skyline High School in Oakland before Williams brought it to Dublin 14 years ago. Each year it gets bigger and after spanning it to two days worked out so well, the plan is to continue that for 2023.

Williams is still recovering from this year but when asked about what’s next, he said the sky’s the limit.

“On average, we retain 92 percent of our teams. With the notoriety we got this year, I am hoping next year we can get a big sponsor and keep going.”