Katie Elze ran five kilometers Sunday morning—a monumental feat considering she suffers from a rare nerve disorder that inflicts incessant pain.

To commemorate the fifth year since her diagnosis of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, the 26-year-old joined nearly 2,000 runners and 300 volunteers  in downtown Danville Sunday for the 33rd Devil Mountain Run, a charity event for Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland.

"This is my first race since I found out I have a nerve disease," said Elze, accompanied by her 23-year-old friend Laura Ancich, who was diagnosed with the same condition just last summer, after years of debilitating pain.

"I used to feel like my bones were breaking," said Ancich. "And today, I ran a couple miles."

Like Ancich and Elze, many runners at the event had very personal reasons for participating.

The run, which organizers said is the oldest continuous running event in the East Bay, normally attracts up to 3,000 participants. Participants jog or walk from the Museum of the San Ramon Valley off of Railroad Avenue, past San Ramon Valley High School, around to the Iron Horse Trail and back again.

Though registration was down this year, organizers said they still considered it a healthy turnout. How much money was raised remains to be seen. The hospital foundation has yet to tally all the donations and sponsorships. Some of this year's top fund-raisers brought in donations ranging from $150 to almost $5,000. Corporate sponsors bumped this year's fund-raising number into the tens of thousands.

"It's encouraging seeing people out here on a beautiful day, enjoying the sport and raising money for a good cause," said 5k runner Liz Schumacher, 27, whose niece was once a patient at the 100-year-old hospital. "I think many of us know a child who has benefitted from the children's hospital."

Many runners brought their children, spouses, friends and extended family. Some wore quirky outfits—like tutus—and some competed for the sport of it, racing against the clock for a new personal best.

Children under 10 sprinted in the kids' 50 and 100-yard races for first-through-third-place medals. Every registered runner came away with a goodie bag full of snacks, pamphlets and trinkets like keychains and frisbees.

After the races, runners relaxed at the finish line, where vendors gave out more freebies, awarded prizes in raffles or offered face-painting for kids.

"It's our family tradition to run this," said Daniel Paxton, who walked the 5K with his two children and black Labrador. "It's a memory-making morning that supports something very important to us."

At a glance
For more information about the Children's Hospital or to see race results go to www.devilmountainrun.org.