Photo: A scene from last year’s Dan Scharfman road race.

Runners and residents can now register for the Foundation for Belmont Education‘s third annual Dan Scharfman Memorial Run being held on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. at Belmont High School’s Harris Field, 221 Concord Ave.

What is now a fall staple on the road running calendar, this family-friendly event offers a 5k and a 2k course that takes runners through a scenic route past many of the town’s schools as well as the Payson Park Reservoir and Clay Pit Pond. Awards follow each race’s end, including prizes for children of all ages.

The race is held in memorial of Dan Scharfman, a Belmont School Committee member, long-time runner and a dedicated advocate of technology and innovation in education. Last year, more than 500 runners raised $25,000 for the Dan Scharfman Education Innovation Fund in support of the FBE’s Innovative Teaching Initiative, a multi-year, $450,000 program providing teachers with the training resources that support math, science and reading instruction.

Registration for the USATF-certified and sanctioned event is available through the FBE website: www.fbe-belmont.org/race.

Contact: Amanda Theodoropulos, Foundation for Belmont Education, amanda.maria.mccarthy@gmail.com or call 617-947-4633.

There were parents who could run very fast and teachers who are strictly middle of the pack, youngsters who could out race most adults and a pair of superheroes – those would be The Mighty Thor (Ed Chen) and Captain America (Mike Worthington) – all who came to Belmont High School’s Harris Field on Sunday to race either over five kilometers and a flat mile.

The racers also brought a great deal of heart as more than 700 runners – both fast and not so fast – participated in the second annual Dan Scharfman Memorial Run 5K on a brilliant autumn morning, Oct. 5.

“We even had more people come out than last year that is fantastic and the day is gorgeous, so it was perfect running weather. We’re thrilled,” said Jamie Shea, president of the Foundation for Belmont Education.

The race is held to raise money – with the hope to top $20,000 from this year’s race – for the foundation’s education innovation fund, the goal of the man for which the race is named.

Dan Scharfman was a school committee member and a long-time supporter of education and the performing arts who sought to bring technology into the classrooms by teaching Belmont educators “the tools and the practices that they need in order to bring innovative techniques into the classroom,” said Shea.

After his untimely death from a heart attack in Jan. 2013, the FBE decided to hold a road race in Scharfman’s memory – Dan was a dedicated ultra-distance runner – with the aim to assist in the foundation’s four-year, $450,000 Innovation Teaching Initiative campaign. This spring, the foundation funded $50,000 for professional development in all grades and curriculum.

For Iris Ponte, leading the four-member Henry Frost Children’s Program team, the race was to remember “Dan, who was an awesome guy.” She can recall when she was a lifeguard at the Underwood Pool, “we would keep the pool open for him so at the end of his big runs he would come flying into the deep end almost every evening.”

“The town has not been the same without him,” said Ponte.

It’s that sort of memory that Rachel Scharfman hopes the annual race will rekindle each year it’s run. Rachel – who with her brother, Jacob (who also sang the National Anthem), aunt and mother, Muriel Kummer, participated in the race – recalls her father being a community leader, runner, friend and, now, an inspiration.

“His biggest passions are combined today in this one event,” she said.

“I know once a year, this town will gather to support the Dan Scharfman Education Innovation Fund. We’ll come together not to mourn but to carry forward Dan’s great loves; running and education.”

Moved up from November to October, this year’s race would be competing with nearly 30 established road races in the crowded fall running calendar. In addition, several long-standing charity events were taking place in Boston and surrounding communities. But came they did, in greater numbers than the first race.

With the help from the Belmont High School Volleyball team – which was spread around the course as marshals and timekeepers – and a hoard of volunteers, the race was successfully completed under a bright warm sun on the cool fall morning.

Racers climbed from Harris Field to the Payson Park Res before starting back down Goden Street before taking a lap around Clay Pit Pond and returning to Harris. The one-milers sped around the “Pit” before sprinting home.

Along the route, the runners passed four of Belmont’s six public schools in another tribute to Scharfman.

As for the winners, Chris Leitz of Watertown (in 17:26.1) took first followed by Belmontian’s Joe Shaw and Belmont High senior cross country captain Ari Silverfine. Rachel Henke of Cambridge (20:15.9) was the top woman with Belmont teacher Sara Saba-Sher second and Christy Lawrence third. In the one mile, Chris Burge broke six minutes by a hair in 5:59.4 followed by Shea Brams in 6:10.4.

“It feels great to finish in the top three,” said Silverfine, just as the race announcer urged all the runners to tell their friends “I ran the Dan!”

“But this is real special because I know the Scharfman family and Dan was a great man.”

Rather than chance a run through a snow storm, the organizers of the second annual Dan Scharfman Memorial Run have moved up the date of the 5 kilometer race by a bit over a month to allow runners and walkers an enjoyable way of spending an early fall Sunday.

In fact, said race co-director Charlie Conroy speaking before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, June 9, the race’s new date of Sunday, Oct. 5, was nearer to the date the organizers wanted to stage the run/walk in memory of Belmont School Committee member Dan Scharfman. But due to a great deal of community activity in completing the new Joey’s Park adjacent to the Winn Brook School that took place over the holiday weekend last year, the inaugural race took place on Sunday, Nov. 17 under dark clouds.

This year, the race will take place at Harris Field on Sunday, Oct. 5 with the 5K race beginning at 9:30 a.m. and the 1 mile walk at 10:45 a.m.

Runners will take off from Harris Field and then up the hill on School to Payson then back down on Oakley and Goden before going once-around Clay Pit Pond before finishing at the field, passing the Burbank, Chenery and Wellington schools in honor of Scharfman.

 The proceeds from the races fund the Dan Scharfman Education Innovative Fund for the Foundation for Belmont Education’s Innovative Teaching Initiative. This initiative combines two of Dan’s passions and education priorities: professional development for teachers and school technology.