Those were the words that kicked off the 2ndAnnual Raiders Back to Football 5K and Kids Run this morning at the O.co Coliseum.
More than 900 runners get the Raiders Back to Football 5K underway at O.co Coliseum. Photo by Tony Gonzales.
The nearly 1,000 runners began the course on the field and were greeted at the finish line by members of the Black Hole.
Gene Brtalik, the race director for the event as well as the Oakland Running Festival in March, spoke about how he thought the morning went.
"We had about 1000 runners," said Brtalik. "It's nearly double what we had last year for the first year. What makes the race great is that more and more Raiders fans come out. It gets them a little bit of exercise. It gets them pumped for tomorrow and it makes it an all-around great event."
Raiders fan Bill Sterling drove up from Modesto to participate in the run, and was happy that the event provided a chance for the community to come together.
"It went great," Sterling said. "It's awesome to get more of the community out here involved in something. Getting off the couch and getting involved in doing something together."
Mark Shearer, Director of Business Development for the Raiders, also participated in the morning run and was pleased with the outcome of the event.
"Today was fantastic," he said. "It was great to see all the Raiders fans out here supporting the team. There's nothing quite like a Fall morning when you have Silver and Black flowing at the Coliseum."
He continued, "It was just fun to see all the ages of the people out here running and supporting the club, and getting the exercise that everyone needs. We doubled last year's attendance and hope to do it again next year."
The Raiders kick off the home portion of their 2014 schedule tomorrow at 1:25 p.m. when they face off against Andre Johnson and the Houston Texans at the O.co Coliseum.
