Running for the children

Deirdre Newman

Creating tantalizing treats such as mint meltaways, coconut swirls

and chocolate-dipped pretzels can be hazardous to your waistline. But

the employees of Newport Beach-based Cuisine by Jeanine, a

full-service catering company, work out to minimize the high-caloric

effects of their cuisine.

And this time of year -- right before the Christmas holidays when

their business goes into overdrive with cookie orders -- they take

their workout up a notch.

On Oct. 5, owner Jeanine Megonigal and five of her employees will

run as a team in the Harbor Heritage Run, sponsored by Newport Harbor

High School’s Parent-Teacher Assn. The organization encourages teams

to participate to make the race more fun and involve more of the

community, said Cathy Falliers, publicity chair.

“[Teams] can dress up and be goofy; they can do anything they

want,” Falliers said.

This is the 16th annual run. The event usually garners $25,000 to

30,000 for academic programs at the school, Falliers said. About

1,000 people usually participate.

In addition to the main event -- the 5K -- the race also features

a 3K and “Kids Klassic” races.

If runners enter as a team, they don’t have to worry about

competing with the individual runners. They are in a class by

themselves with their own level of raffle prizes, Falliers said. In

addition to Megonigal’s team, other teams participating so far

include the school’s water polo and girl’s tennis teams and a few

groups of women walkers. A team can enter with a minimum of four

people.

In addition to burning calories, Megonigal and her cohorts are

running the race because they all have some affiliation with the

school -- Megonigal’s daughter will attend it in the future.

“Three-fourths of our work is here in Newport and we’re trying to

stay within the community,” Megonigal said.

Megonigal and her team will probably dress in aprons for the race

and will help others carbo-load by handing out samples of their

Christmas cookies, she said.