In 1967, Solanco High School hosted its inaugural Solanco Cross Country Invitational. Athletes from 17 schools took to the streets of Quarryville for the race, which started and ended at Legion Park. Although Solanco's cross-country team didn't know it at the time, it had just planted the seeds of a multigenerational community tradition known today as the Kevin Regan Memorial Run.

This year, the Kevin Regan Memorial Run will take place on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Solanco High School, 585 Solanco Road, Quarryville. Elementary school students in Solanco School District are invited to participate in the event, which will kick off at 9 a.m. with a 400-meter race for kindergartners. A 400-meter race for first-graders will begin at 9:15 a.m., followed by a 600-meter race for second-graders at 9:30 a.m., an 800-meter race for third-graders at 9:45 a.m., and an 800-meter race for fourth-graders at 10:15 a.m. A 1,200-meter race for fifth-graders will take place at 10:15 a.m., and the event will wrap up with an awards ceremony at 10:45 a.m.

Runners should arrive 20 minutes before the start of their race to review a course map with a parent and bring their signed permission slip to the starting line when their race is called. Students will receive medals for first through sixth place for each grade level.

During the 1970s, the Kevin Regan Memorial Run changed from a high school cross-country invitational into a run for students in elementary school and middle school. The competition was renamed to honor Solanco alumnus and former cross-country athlete Kevin Regan shortly after his unexpected death in college. In 2014, race organizers partnered with Solanco Neighborhood Ministries to use the Kevin Regan Memorial Run as an opportunity to collect donations for the organization's food bank. Every year, students participating in the run are asked to bring nonperishable food items to donate, and a traveling trophy is awarded to the school with the largest percentage of students who brought donations.

After the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Kevin Regan Memorial Run's average attendance dropped from hundreds of students to less than fifty. In recent years, event organizer and former Solanco High School cross-country coach Craig Ausel has sought to revitalize the event by partnering with local businesses such as Dolce Vita, Oola Bowls and Maplehofe Dairy to offer a goodie bag of prizes to each runner at the finish line. Prize bags include bracelets, snacks and coupons donated by the sponsoring businesses.

This year, Ausel will award a classroom prize to teachers who attend the race and walk alongside their students. "Some kids might not typically run or enjoy sports," said Ausel. "But if a teacher says, 'I'm gonna be there. I'll walk with you' - that's huge."

The community has already begun to rally around the Kevin Regan Memorial Run as it did in the old days; attendance more than tripled in 2025, and the event produced more than 300 nonperishable food donations for Solanco Neighborhood Ministries. Every year, as young students lace up their sneakers to compete for the first time, former Solanco cross-country all-stars attend the event to show their support and encourage the next generation of runners.

"I think what's neat about the Kevin Regan Memorial Run is how long it's been around," said Ausel. "You hear parents telling their kids about how they ran this race when they were young. It's so cool to see people come together to support this community - and remember when we ran the streets of Quarryville."