Charleston Digital Corridor’s iFive:K Race a Record-breaker

Charleston's tech community came together this past Thursday, April 17 for the 8th Annual Innovators iFive:K Run-Walk-Shuffle event. Launched in 2007, the event has grown from 250 runners to a cap of 800 registrants. This year's event sold out in a record 23 days after tickets became available on January 1.

Dubbed as "five kilometers through three hundred years of history," the iFiveK starts at the Charleston Maritime Center and winds through downtown streets, finishing with a post-race celebration at the Charleston Maritime Center overlooking Charleston Harbor. Every year, the participants treat the iFive:K as an opportunity to relax, mingle, and celebrate the Charleston tech community.

"There is no better example of tech community engagement in the country than the iFive:K race," said Digital Corridor Director Ernest Andrade.

The event is a favorite of knowledge-based business professionals, running enthusiasts and visitors. In its inaugural year, the iFive:K race hosted roughly 20 company-sponsored teams. This year over 80 teams from Charleston came out for an evening of spirited competition, all the while raising scholarship funds for CODEcamp and other local education initiatives within the Charleston community.

"It's very inspiring to be among such a thriving tech community in Charleston," said Lauren Winkler, social media manager at Zubie, one of the participating companies. "There are so many great opportunities for networking, and being a member of the CDC has allowed us to connect with local talent and grow our company. We're proud to participate in events like the i5k that give back to a variety of educational projects and scholarships."

The after-party featured the bestowing of the coveted SPIRIT race award. This year, BoomTown edged out SPARC to win the trophy and the ultimate bragging rights.

"We work hard at BoomTown, but we play hard too, and we were thrilled to accept the 2014 SPIRIT Award," said Grier Allen, CEO and president of BoomTown. "We love any excuse to come together as a company, and the iFive:K event gives us an amazing opportunity to convene each year with our fellow tech companies to support the Charleston Digital Corridor and celebrate the success of the tech community in Charleston."

The 2014 event raised a record amount of just over $35,000. Proceeds from the 2014 race will be used to support scholarships for students enrolled in public higher education institutions to attend classes at CODEcamp, a software and web development education program taught by industry professionals.

CODEcamp allows students to select a career path in design, front-end and back-end development, and mobile technologies while providing mentors and networking opportunities in the Charleston tech community.

CODEcamp was launched in 2012 with dues paid by Corridor member companies and became self-sustaining within a year of program launch.

"Of our four focus areas -- community, talent, spaces and capital, talent is the most important issue related to accelerating the growth of our tech community," said Andrade. "As talent is the lifeblood of these companies, this area will always be an area of high focus for the Digital Corridor.

For 2014 race results, visit the iFive:K website. Pictures from the event are here and a post-race video here.

The 2015 iFive:K is set for April 16th, 2015.