After running for twenty minutes, Mason DeCola was out of breath and flush-faced. But the kindergarten student at Cascade View Elementary School didn’t want to stop running laps with his classmates on the school’s soccer field. He’d already run 16 laps, or two miles.

What kept him and his classmates going?

“The prizes,” he said.

Behind DeCola, Cascade View parents manned several tables stocked with prizes for the sprinting kindergarten students, who earned a stop at the tables after running a certain number of laps.

DeCola had already picked up an inflatable punching ball and some popcorn.

However, he was oblivious to the money he had raised for CVES’ Parent-Teacher Association. Most students running had sponsors who had pledged to donate money for each lap completed. All of CVES’ more than 600 students ran and picked up prizes.

The event’s goal was to raise $30,000, which would see the PTA through until its next fundraising event in November, said Lorraine Thurston, the school’s incoming PTA president.

The PTA’s annual budget is around $80,000, which includes $10,000 to subsidize field trips and $6,000 for classroom grants. The association also helps the school acquire new technology, such as ActiveBoards — interactive teaching devices which cost $1,500 each. The PTA wants to buy seven more boards, which will mean one in each classroom.

“With the upcoming budget cuts, the school’s expected shortfall is $14,000. For me, as incoming president, I want to at least maintain the status quo,” Thurston said.

Fall City and Snoqualmie Elementary Schools have held similar events, raising thousands of dollars.

“We really wanted it to be a fun activity for the kids first,” Thurston said.

There was no doubt students were having fun, giving high-fives and picking up prizes.