IF YOU GO

WHAT: Dick's Sporting Goods Bolder Boulder 10K Road Race

WHEN: Monday, May 26, staggered start times from 7 to 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: From First National Bank (30th & Iris) to Folsom Field

HOW MUCH: Packages start at $40 per person

ON THE WEB: www.bolderboulder.com

E veryone knows what Memorial Day means: Barbecues, a day off from the daily grind, and the annual Bolder Boulder 10K race. But as you lace up your running shoes and stretch your quads on May 26, there's one thing you may not be aware of: You're indirectly contributing to local nonprofits.

The Bolder Boulder requires approximately 2,300 volunteers, and the organizers hatched a novel plan to staff the race and give back to the community. Nonprofit groups that send at least 10 volunteers are compensated at the rate of $10 to $20 per person, depending on the job. Most positions pay $20, while rope holders at the start line receive $10, due to the shorter duration of their duties.

According to marketing director Matt Jenkins, two-thirds of Bolder Boulder volunteers represent nonprofits, and in 2007 the race donated more than $33,000 to local charitable organizations. Along with raising funds, 2008 volunteers receive a T-shirt and free admission to the Rockpile party at the Colorado Rockies game on June 7.

Young Life of Boulder Valley mustered close to 200 volunteers last year, and let them use the money to help pay for summer camp. "Kids will bring their families, usually," says Matt Walker, Young Life's area director. "Some brought 10 people and made $200 toward their camp."

Although Young Life will send fewer volunteers this year due to time constraints, the experience was positive and one they'll likely repeat.

"It's been a fun event for people to be a part of," Walker notes. "It's exciting that they're willing to help out nonprofits. It's a real give-and-take."

Many of the groups that volunteer do so year after year. The Boulder Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol has participated for the past several years, and this year several CAP members will staff the merchandise booth and one of the aid stations. "Each year we increase the number of our members who volunteer and have a great time doing it," says first lieutenant Jim Garrard.

CAP's three missions are aerospace education, youth mentorship, and emergency services, including searching for lost hikers or downed aircraft. The money they raise will go toward new equipment, such as litters to transport the injured or handheld devices that help pinpoint an airplane's location on the ground.

Beyond the assistance provided to individual groups, the Bolder Boulder race pumps money into the local economy -- the overall impact is about $10 million annually -- and makes the best use of its resources. Leftover food is donated to local food banks, and extra shirts are donated to disaster-relief organizations and other groups.

Approximately 500 shirts are donated each year to One World Running, a Boulder-based nonprofit that collects running shoes and other athletic gear for shipment to Africa, Latin America and other areas in need.

Bolder Boulder was involved with One World Running from the beginning. Mike Sandrock, a journalist and marathon runner, was invited to Cameroon in 1986. He was working for Bank of Boulder at the time, and its president was Steve Bosley, founder of Bolder Boulder. "Steve said, 'Why don't you take a bunch of our shirts over,'" Sandrock remembers.

From that humble beginning, One World Running developed into an organization that donated 10,000 pairs of shoes in 2007. Bolder Boulder's office and store serve as collection points for the shoes, along with Fleet Feet Sports, Boulder Running Company, Crown Trophy and Avery Brewing Company.

There will also be a temporary donation site set up at the Boulder Theater over Memorial Day weekend. Shoes will be collected in conjunction with the May 25 world premiere of "Volcanic Sprint," a documentary film about the foot race up Mt. Cameroon, an active volcano. Tickets are $15, and all shoes donated will be shipped to Cameroon.

One World Running accepts all types of shoes, including dress shoes, regardless of their condition. Those too worn to be reused are recycled. "They all get used somehow," Sandrock says.

For nonprofit groups interested in volunteering at Bolder Boulder, Jenkins says registrations are accepted up until the day before the event. "The race absolutely could not happen without our volunteers," he says.

"It is great to see volunteers come back year after year to be a part of our event. They are a huge part of our success and work just as hard or harder on race day than the runners."