About

The Mt. Madonna Challenge began in 1975 by a hodge podge group of runners led by a gentleman with a passion for running, Bill Flodberg. It was one of the original trail races that began the evolution of trail running. In his 75 years, Bill wore many hats, and he wore them with equal passion. Bill was an avid runner; during college, he ran for UC Berkeley; later, he ran and trained on the roads and trails in San Martin and Gilroy, and he raced competitively well into his 70s. In addition to his personal running accomplishments, Bill encouraged runners and running as a Cross Country Coach at Gavilan College, as one of the founders of the Gavilan Joggers and Striders Running Club, through his “Running Man” running column, and as an organizer and director of several local races, including the Mt. Madonna Challenge. Thanks to Bill, thousands of people were enriched by his efforts to encourage music and the arts. And thanks to Bill, thousands of people in the running community have benefited from his example, encouragement, and advice.

In 2007, the South Valley Running Club took over ownership and management of the Mt. Madonna Challenge as Bill could no longer manage putting on the race. The running club took over the race with the intent of all proceeds being donated in the form of scholarships for college to local high school running athletes. Over the 13 years, the running club put on the Mt. Madonna Challenge, one to five scholarships were given out each year to local high school seniors.

In 2020, José Cruz took over ownership and management of the race. José’s passion for running didn’t begin until his early 20’s but that didn’t stop him from immersing himself in the trail running scene. Early on in his running adventure, José became an assistant cross country coach at Gilroy High School in 2014, when his good friend Randy Higashi introduced him to the team. He assisted the Gilroy High XCountry team until 2020. José has participated in races from 2 miles on the track to 100k’s in the French Alps. José was also frequent participant of the Mt. Madonna Challenge until he felt a need to fill the role as race director. He’s done his fair share of volunteering at several races throughout the Bay Area, and has also led group clean ups in efforts to conserve our wild lands. José is from Gilroy, CA and currently resides in Gilroy, CA and plans to establish a strong South Bay running community in the future, as he’s currently in school full time pursuing a Kinesiology degree.

All proceeds collected from Mt. Madonna Challenge will go towards the Mt. Madonna Challenge Scholarship, which will sponsor local high school runners to take part in the Max King Trail Running Camp in the summer! A week packed with adventure, camaraderie, advice, exploration, and opportunity. Our goal is to eventually have 8 - 10 underrepresented kids from various local schools to attend this running camp but everyone is encouraged to apply. Read more information on the camp at www.maxkingtrc.com/mtshastayouth