David Bolin may not have realized what he was getting himself into when he made a promise a couple of weeks ago.
The Windemere Ranch Middle School principal said if his school registered more runners for the than nearby Gale Ranch Middle School, then he would allow a student to hit him in the face with a pie in the middle of the quad.
If Gale Ranch won, Principal Lisa Ward was going to get a face full of cream pie.
It was close.
Windemere Ranch had 576 students and parents register for last Sunday's run. Gale Ranch had 574 participants.
Gale Ranch's total was a higher percentage of its student population, but the bet was total numbers, so Bolin was on the hook.
Friday morning was judgement time.
At 9:30 a.m., all 1,040 Windemere students assembled in the quad. There were slices of pie for all of them.
On a grassy hill in the quad's center sat Bolin, awaiting his fate.
Sixth-grader Westin Mendoza won a random drawing to become the lucky pie smasher.
As the students cheered him on, Westin hit his principal square in the face with a large banana cream pie.
Bolin gladly took the hit.
He noted the Primo's Run raises money for San Ramon Valley schools, and the challenge was a way to create a bridge between Windemere Ranch and the surrounding community.
"It's a great community activity, and it raises money for a good cause," said Bolin.
He admitted having "mixed feelings" about the outcome, perhaps hoping Gale Ranch might edge out his school by a few votes, forcing his fellow principal to take the pie.
Jennifer Ottley, the school's PTA president, was there with camera in hand. She praised Bolin for getting involved and keeping his promise.
"It just shows how much he is committed to this school and the students," she said.
Bolin wasn't the only one paying off a bet.
Windemere Ranch's five physical education teachers — three women and two men — wore dresses to campus on Friday as part of the challenge.
