ESCONDIDO ---- Their mouths exhaling steam and their bodies splattered by mud, the young athletes trooped on despite the challenging conditions. After being inundated by rain, Kit Carson Park was inundated by nearly 400 runners competing in the USA Track & Field Regional 15 Cross Country Championships, a qualifying event for the National Junior Olympics Championships to be held next month in Illinois.

The event Sunday showed not only how far and fast the young runners could go, but it also showed how far the San Diego Southern California RoadRunners have come. The RoadRunners have become a noteworthy youth athletic group since the club was founded a decade ago by Mike and Jeanette Mena of Vista.

The year-round program has garnered national honors in both cross country and track, and the Regional 15 Championships showed that the RoadRunners also know how to host a big running party.

"It's amazing what Mike and Jeanette have done over the past 10 or 11 years without any organized support," said Lisa Hettinger, who recently assumed the position of president of the San Diego Southern California RoadRunners. "There were parents who would help out here and there, but to run these association and regional meets is a big operation.

"This club is all about Mike, and Mike is all about the kids. We're just trying to help him by providing some assistance."

Despite being hammered by heavy rain, thunder and occasional lightning as they set up the course for Sunday's meet, the RoadRunners' volunteers helped set the stage for a successful meet that included 371 runners ages 7-18 competing in 10 races for boys and girls.

"It was quite a meet, and a lot of long hours went into it," said Mike Mena. "All the RoadRunners' parents helped pull it off."

The RoadRunners became a nonprofit organization last spring, complete with bylaws and an elected board.

"Being a nonprofit organization helps the club gain sponsorships and be able to get extra money coming in," said Hettinger, whose son Graham and daughter Quincey are members of the team.

Added Mike Mena: "We were a good team before, but the added support has made us an even better team."

The San Diego Southern California RoadRunners, an offshoot of the Los Angeles-based Southern California RoadRunners, have received plenty of community support from various agencies.

"The running community really came together to help provide our needs," said Mike Mena, who also has coached cross country at the high school level with Rancho Buena Vista and San Marcos. "In Motion, Movin' Shoes and the San Diego Track Club all volunteered support in one way or another. The City of Escondido was very supportive in allowing us to use Kit Carson Park, and I can't say enough about how the Shadowridge community in the RBV area has been behind us."

The RoadRunners typically train at Buena Vista Park. That training paid off at Sunday's Regional meet with two team titles and four individual champions. The RoadRunners' Bantam Girls team (born in 1994 or later) and Youth Boys team (born 1990-91) each garnered team championships. First-place finishers for the RoadRunners included Darren Fahy of Carlsbad (Bantam Boys), Shanna St. Laurent of Oceanside (Midget Girls), Erin Gillingham of Solana Beach (Youth Girls) and Jeree Henry of Rancho Buena Vista High (Intermediate Boys).

Gillingham, 13, is no stranger to gold medals. She was a member of the RoadRunners' national champion Midget Girls team last year, and just one week ago she won the girls eighth-grade race at the Big Eight Conference Middle School Cross Country Championships at Guajome Park.

Gillingham found Sunday's conditions to her liking, winning her 4-kilometer race with a time of 14 minutes, 58 seconds.

"I don't like it too hot or too cold, so this was just about right," said Gillingham, a student at Earl Warren Middle School. "The course dried out pretty well since our walk-through earlier in the morning."

Gillingham and her RoadRunners teammates now will mix in some training with well-deserved rest as they prepare for the National Junior Olympics Championships, which are slated for Dec. 11 in Schaumburg, Ill. The top 20 individuals and top three teams from each race at the Regional 15 meet advance to the National Championships. The RoadRunners are sending a total of 42 athletes to the national meet.

Contact staff writer Rick Hoff at (760) 740-3545 or rhoff@nctimes.com.