Hundreds of runners lined up on a cold Saturday morning for the 7th annual St. Brigid 5K in Westbury.
A total of 369 runners appeared in the race, which was record high participation in the event. The Village of Westbury describes the run as “a post-Thanksgiving Saturday annual event” on its Facebook page.
“We had record high registration, I’m very happy about it,” said Michiko Clarke, the race’s director. Clarke has been involved with the event since its beginning, but became race director in 2021.
Clarke said she picked late November to host the race because that’s when a lot of the young school alumni come back home for Thanksgiving.
The race is a part of the United States track and field Long Island Prix series. Since the event is put on through the school Parent Teacher Association, all funds benefit the St Brigid Our Lady of Hope School and go towards school events.
The Westbury Board of Villages was present at the start of the race. Mayor Peter Cavallaro was the official race starter accompanied by First Deputy Mayor and Trustee Steve Corte, Second Deputy Mayor and Trustee Beaumont A. Jefferson as well as Trustees Pedro A. Quintanilla and Vincent Abbatiello.
In addition to monetary sponsors, organizers have partnered with EliteFeats, a race-organizing company. They set up registration, ads and timing for participants.
This year a little over $20,000 was collected from sponsorships. Revenue, including sponsorships and donations, reached a record high near $28,000, according to Clarke.
The primary monetary sponsor of the 5K is Glen Wolther, CEO of All Round Foods, in Westbury. It sponsors around two dozen races on Long Island, including the Great Cow Harbor 10K Run, the Santa’s Toy Trot 5K Run/Walk, the 6 Hour 60th Birthday Celebration Run and Relay and more.
For the third year in a row, Wolther, an avid runner himself, donated $5,000.
“We are hoping more people will step forward and donate to this fine school. That’s what this is about, supporting our community,” Wolther said “I hope everyone will be generous and give back, this is the season of giving”
The men’s race was won by Liam Going and the female race was won by Elizabeth Caldwell. Going ran 16:05 and Caldwell ran 18:22, both course records, according to Clarke.
Clarke said she was proud of the progress made by the race and said she looked forward to continuing to build relationships between the race and community.
“After seven years I feel like we have a nice connection with school, sponsor, and the village so I think things are getting smoother,” Clarke said.
