by Ed Hayward

The 11th annual Milton Monster Dash takes place Sunday, October 25, 2009, at Cunningham Park, where hundreds of participants will run, jog and walk to raise money to benefit the Sam Cichello Memorial Fund, which supports science education in the Milton schools.

The race, held in memory of the Tucker school elementary student who died following a playground accident in 1999, is organized by the Milton Foundation for Education, with proceeds devoted to the support of science programs for students in grades K through 5.

This year, the Monster Dash has partnered with the Milton Department of Parks and Recreation on a project to increase the activities available to children the day of the race. In addition to the kids’ run, there will be a costume parade, relay races, pumpkin decorating and face painting. Judges will award prizes for the best costumes.

In addition, participants have the new option of collecting pledges for their efforts. For runners who contribute more than $20 in donations, the entry fee will be waived. Pledges should be turned in on race day, with checks made payable to “MFE/Monster Dash.”

This year’s race T-shirt will feature a new design chosen from entries submitted by children as part of an art contest conducted in September with the Milton Public Schools.

A naturalist from the Blue Hills Trailside Museum will be at the Cunningham Foundation Hall, accompanied by an animal from the museum. For the past four years, Milton Public Schools has worked with museum naturalists to provide fun earth science lessons at the elementary grades that are tied to the state’s science curriculum frameworks.

Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by the costume parade at 12:30 p.m. After the 1 p.m. 5K start, the kids activities begin at 1:15 p.m. and are followed by awards. Confirmed sponsors include: Milton Chiropractic, Fruit Center Marketplace, Milton Junior Women’s Club, Milton Times, Kinnealey Meats, Krokidas & Bluestein LLP, Konditor Meister, Fitness Unlimited, South Shore Moonwalk, The Toy Box of Hanover, the Milton Department of Parks and Recreation and the Milton Police Department.

For serious runners, the course is supervised and includes a computerized finish line system. There are water stations on the route and refreshments at the finish. Prizes and trophies are awarded to the top male and female finishers, as well as age group winners.

Proceeds from The Monster Dash are distributed by the Milton Foundation for Education, which works closely with the Milton Public Schools and the Cichello family to develop science enrichment programming.

Proceeds from the race have funded science workshops and visiting speakers, classroom materials and visits from the Trailside Museum staff, as well as Project SAM, or Science Across Milton, which supports the science coordinator and has extended enrichment across all elementary grades. In addition, students in grades three through five participate in a Junior Naturalist Day at the museum.

The registration fee for the 5K run/walk is $20 if mailed by October 15, and $25 between October 16 and race day. Online registration for the 5K race is available through www.active.com. There are no additional fees to register online. Registration for the kids’ run for children ages 10 and under is $7, though no family will be charged more that $15 for child entrants.

For more information on the Monster Dash or to download the registration form, please visit www.miltonfoundationforeducation.org.