Competitors in the Bigfoot 10K and Dirtyfoot 10K start on the course through Seventh Mountain Resort on Sunday morning in Bend.

While other events have come and gone in Central Oregon’s crowded racing landscape, one thing seems to remain consistent since Bend’s Bigfoot Road Race was staged for the first time in 1978: Runners like to go fast.

The 10-kilometer Bigfoot has been tweaked and modified over the years. But the 2013 race, staged Sunday starting at Seventh Mountain Resort west of Bend and ending at Deschutes Brewery’s production facility in the Old Mill District, continues to offer runners a chance to set new personal records and channel their inner Flash with the course’s downhill layout.

“It’s awesome to just go so fast,” said Ryan McLaughlin, 24 and of Bend, who won this year’s Bigfoot in 33 minutes, 30.8 seconds. “It’s a great opportunity to set a PR (personal record) and there’s great competition. And it helps out local runners.”

Just as important to the Bigfoot as its identity as a downhill race is the fact that all proceeds from the event go to Bend-La Pine School District’s high school cross-country teams.

As school budgets have gotten tighter, money from Bigfoot has been a lifeline for area cross-country teams, said Mountain View High School coach Don Stearns.

“Right now, we have the money to go to races, and that’s about it,” said Stearns, whose program helped with race support at the finish line Sunday. Members of other local high school cross-country programs were stationed along the road course and along the route for the Dirtyfoot 10K, the Bigfoot’s trail-running alternative that was staged concurrent with the road race and started and finished at the same locations.

“This (Bigfoot) allows us to do some fun things like go to Seaside (for the town’s popular Three-Course Challenge race),” Stearns said. “This will put us up in the barracks up there and pay for our spaghetti feed before the race.”

Put on by the Central Oregon Running Klub (CORK), Sunday’s races were staffed with an all-volunteer cast. Local businesses donated tables, course markers, and even loudspeakers to provide music for the event. CORK board member Dave Thomason helped cut costs by using his own timing device.

“Really, the only overhead we had were bathrooms — renting the Porta Potties — and T-shirts,” said Kari Strang, the race organizer and CORK president. “That lets us give more back to the high school programs so they can do those team-building things that make great teams.”

Brett Ely, 33 and of Eugene, won the women’s Bigfoot in 35:50.4, and 36-year-old Dave Harms (40:59.6) and 34-year-old Megan Gerfen (55:30.2), both of Bend, took first in the men’s and women’s Dirtyfoot races, respectively. Close to 150 participants competed in the dual race setup Sunday.

“People sometimes look at the race results and think it’s ‘too fast,’ ” Strang said. “They don’t realize that if they run, they’ll post a fast time too because of the course.

“It’s a fun race,” Strang added. “And with a little downhill help, it makes it all the better.”