Overview T-Mac’s Run is a memorial 5K and walk at Baldwin Harbor Park organized in honor of Tyler McKenzie, who passed away in 2022 at 28 after a years-long battle with translocation renal cell carcinoma, a rare form of kidney cancer. Tyler grew up on Long Island, attended Syracuse University, and worked for the Brooklyn…
Overview The It’s Our Only Earth Day 5K is an NSRF Goodwill Series race at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, timed to coincide with Earth Day and leaning into the occasion with purpose. The course runs through the tree-lined bike paths inside the park, which is a nicer backdrop than your average road 5K, and…
Overview Katy’s Courage is a 5K in Sag Harbor that raises money for local scholarships and cancer research. It’s organized through the Katy’s Courage foundation and benefits causes with direct community impact. The race starts on Water Street in the heart of Sag Harbor Village and finishes with the harbor right there, which makes the…
Overview Steps Toward Healing is a 5K run/walk at Eisenhower Park organized to benefit COPE Foundation, which provides free grief resources, workshops, and support groups for parents, siblings, and families who have lost a child. The tagline — no one should have to walk, or grieve, alone — says it plainly. This is a race…
Overview The Run for the Rescue is a 5K trail race at Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown, organized by the Never Stop Running Foundation as part of their Goodwill Series. The race benefits Last Chance Animal Rescue, a nonprofit that pulls animals from kill shelters and finds them homes. It’s the kind of cause that…
Overview The Mary Ruchalski Foundation 5K raises money for pediatric cancer research and supports families impacted by pediatric cancer. It’s a cause with deep personal roots — the foundation was started in memory of Mary Ruchalski, and the race has the kind of genuine community warmth that comes with that kind of history. It runs…
Overview The East Rockaway Education Foundation 5K is a community fundraiser for the East Rockaway Education Foundation, which supports local schools and educational programs. It runs at Hewlett Point Beach in East Rockaway — a waterfront park setting that’s a step up from your average road 5K backdrop. The race is straightforward and welcoming. First…
Overview The Great Easter Basket is an NSRF race at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, and it’s one of those events that actually uses the park well. The course passes the Unisphere twice and circles the Fountain of the Planets, so you’re running through genuine New York City landmarks rather than just loops of…
Overview The Aspire 10K is one of the more established spring races on Long Island, organized by the Greater Long Island Running Club and benefiting the Sunrise Association, a nonprofit that runs free summer camps for children with cancer and their siblings. That’s the kind of cause that makes a race worth showing up for…
Overview The Bunny Trail 5K is one of those races that’s just genuinely fun. It’s a spring trail race at Bethpage State Park organized by the Never Stop Running Foundation, and it has a distinct personality compared to most of the road 5Ks on Long Island. You start on the open polo field, hit the…