Steve Knox sat in his office chair, twirling his glasses in one hand, watching a DVD of last year’s Run of the Mill the same way a new father watches footage of his child’s birth.

A smiled graced his face as he saw footage of runners gliding across the North Creek Trail’s pavement. He seemed to get misty-eyed as he saw the smiles on the faces of participants.

“I’m so proud of what we accomplished,” he said.

Knox is the man who, when the Run of the Mill seemed in jeopardy last year, came in, formed a sponsorship group and pulled off a reborn version of the race in a short period of time. The race turned out to be a huge success, drawing close to 500 runners.

This year, Knox is more at ease, for rather than trying to pull off the race in roughly a month, he and his organizing committee are in place — five months before race day.

The 22nd Run of the Mill is set for Saturday, July 7, the same day the annual Meet Me in Mill Creek Festival begins.

“We’re still working with the festival committee,” Knox said, adding that the race could start earlier than last year. “This year we’re working in partnership with each other. I want the Run to be the kickoff of the festival.”

This year’s race will again be a fundraiser. Proceeds from all entry fees go to the Lance Armstrong Livestrong Foundation, and some operating funds will go toward the state high school cross country scholarship fund and the Jackson High School Track and Cross Country Boosters.

Last year’s race raised $8,800 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and $2,000 for the scholastic cross country organizations. This year, the goals are more ambitious — 1,000 runners, $20,000 raised for the Livestrong Foundation, and 100 volunteers taking part.

“We had close to that many (volunteers) last year,” said Knox, whose son Caleb was a top cross country runner at Jackson High School and is now a junior track star at the University of Washington. “It should be pretty easy.”

The race will once again start in Mill Creek Town Center and wind its way along the North Creek Trail. The tentative course will go past the Mill Creek Sports Park, then return to Town Center on the trail. The start and end point this year could be Main Street instead of 153rd Street Southeast.

The course should be easier for most Mill Creek residents to deal with. In the past the course wound around Village Green Drive, passing by most of the city’s neighborhoods, before crossing Bothell-Everett Highway. The new course crosses some side streets and driveways, but most of it is the North Creek Trail.

“The runners loved the trail,” Knox said. “It’s quintessential Mill Creek. Including the trail in the course is imperative.”