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6 WHARF TO WHARF SATURDAY, JULY 22, 2017 SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL b y C A L v I N M E N hoNorING a LEGEND – KEN thoMaS W harf to Wharf's origin story can't be told without mentioning Ken Thomas. A track coach at soquel High school in the 1970s, Thomas and others were tapped to organize a foot race for the 100th anniversary of Capitola. "He thought it was just well worth any time he could put into it," said Josh Thomas, his son. And this year's Wharf to Wharf can't be discussed without talking about the legacy of Ken Thomas, who passed away in October. While Thomas was part of the committee that organized the race, he was also the official starter. To honor his legacy in the running and education community, Thomas' five grandchildren are slated at perform the starter's duties in his place. Really, the race was a sixth grandchild to Ken Thomas, said Josh Thomas, one of his three children. "I never heard him say a bad word of, 'Oh, I have another meeting or I have another appointment to go pick up the truck.' He loved it," Josh said. The 6-mile 45th Wharf to Wharf will start at 8:30 a.m. July 23 at the santa Cruz Wharf. Organizing and planning the race was his father's idea of a good time. Race mornings in the first few years were spent stringing banners on fixtures by the santa Cruz Wharf. That tradition held true even through the birth of Josh Thomas' first child. she was born the night before a race one year and the next morning he was alongside his father at the start line. And what's become a tradition for the Thomas family is now a tradition for the county. With 16,000 people expected to run, the event has come a long way since its first year that had just 273 runners. "It's really grown into one of the bigger traditions in our county. A yearly thing that people know about and it's not going anywhere any time soon," Josh Thomas said. Along with the race legacy is the event's mission to support local athletics. That mission was driven in part by Thomas. A longtime educator, Thomas served as a principal for schools across the county, including Harbor, soquel and san Lorenzo valley highs. Josh Thomas remembers the early days of the race and watching his CoNtINUES oN 7 KEN thoMaS phoTo conTrubuTed

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