It was a joy to choose these races and causes, to run miles (ranging from 1 to 311/500K) in their honor, to share 50th birthday donations and shine a light on their missions.
50 RACES
Diakon Outdoor Adventure Challenge 5K
Bethany Beach First Responders Sports Weekend, Half Marathon
The York White Rose Run (5-Miler)
Grete’s Great Gallop 10K by the NY Road Runners
The Harrisburg Young Professionals (HYP) 5 Miler for 5 Charities
Harrisburg River Runners Mural Run (5-Miler)
Blood Sweat & Tears 5 Miler & 5K Challenge (8.1 miles)
Dover 10-Miler
Rock N Run 5K, Augusta, GA
The Jingle Bell Dash 1-Miler
The Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell 5K Run
The New Year Run Challenge, 20 miles with Fleet Feet Mechanicsburg
The John Rudy 5-Miler
The Indian Rock 10K
The Jacobus 5-Miler
The Springettsbury 10k
The Northeastern 5k (the last “real” race prior to the pandemic)
The Capital 10-Miler: A Race for the Arts (the first virtual race amid the pandemic)
Lucky Charm 10k (virtual)
16th Annual Race Against Racism, Harrisburg (virtual)
22nd Annual Race Against Racism 5K, Lancaster (virtual)
The Paterno Family Beaver Stadium Run 5K (virtual)
15th Annual Logan’s 5K Run for Autism (virtual)
“Running Is Not Cancelled” Virtual Half Marathon
Run for the Animals 5K Virtual Glow Run
Run for It 5K (virtual)
Run for Redding 5K (virtual)
“The Big Run” Half Marathon (virtual)
Run Across America 5K (virtual)
1 Million Miles for Justice (I contributed 50 miles)
The (Virtual) Fight for Air Stair Climb
The June Miles Challenge, organized by the Harrisburg Area River Runners (100+ miles)
The Philadelphia 76 Challenge (76 miles)
The Great (Socially Distanced) Treasure Map Three Mile Run by the Harrisburg Area River Runners
The Carlisle Downtown Mile (virtual)
Run with Rivs (virtual, half-marathon)
The 39th Annual Harrisburg Mile, LIVE, with social distancing
The 22nd Annual Rail Trail 10-Miler (virtual)
The Runnsylvania 283 (283 miles run challenge)
Run Wild for Wildwood Virtual 5K
St. Jude August Miles Challenge (100+ miles)
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K (virtual)
The Brave Like Gabe 5K (virtual)
50 CAUSES
Benefits at-risk youth through wilderness experiences, via Diakon Youth Services
Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company and First Responders
Not One More, York Chapter, dedicated to fighting addiction, especially opioid addiction
Benefits AKTIV Against Cancer, which integrates physical activity into cancer treatment
Downtown Daily Bread, serving meals to Harrisburg’s homeless since 1983
Sprocket Mural Works, uplifting Harrisburg PA through art
The Emily Whitehead Foundation, funding innovative childhood cancer treatments
Canine cancer research and trials at Hope Veterinary, Malvern
When Help Can’t Wait, helping nursing home residents with basic needs such as clothing
Vickie’s Angel Foundation, helping families facing cancer with household costs
Local food banks and the Penn State Health Emergency Food Box Initiative
St. Francis Xavier Catholic School Development Fund & kicked off The Gettysburg Christmas Parade
My favorite local running store, Fleet Feet Mechanicsburg
Outreach to impoverished areas of India via the nonprofit Communities Rising
York Road Runners Club & their Winter Race Series
The Australian Red Cross, aiding people affected by devastating wildfires in Australia
York Road Runners Club & their Winter Race Series
York Road Runners Club & their Winter Race Series
York Road Runners Club & their Winter Race Series
York Road Runners Club & their Winter Race Series
Five Harrisburg-area arts organizations including the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
Benefitting Girls on the Run and Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District
Special Olympics of Pennsylvania
The Autism Society of the Greater Harrisburg Area
COVID-19 Relief, via Heart to Heart International
The Humane Society of Harrisburg
To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), battling self-injury, depression and suicide
Feeding America, the nonprofit organization that oversees U.S. food banks
The National NAACP & partners Fleet Feet, Black Girls Run, National Civil Rights Museum
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank
Back on My Feet, transforming the lives of the homeless through running
The Humane Society of the Harrisburg Area
COVID-19 relief efforts in New York by Direct Relief
The Employment Skills Center, Carlisle, PA
Runner Tommy Rivers “Rivs” Puzey and his family, as he battles rare lung cancer
Heart to Heart International, COVID-19 relief
Rebuilding one of the boardwalks at Wildwood Park, Harrisburg
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Susan G. Komen, dedicated to breast cancer education and research
Rare cancer research, via the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Inspired Miles 