Saturday, May 19 was Playworks’ 9th Annual Run for Recess 5K and 1-mile Fun Run. It was a beautiful morning in Franklin Park for over 500 Playworks students, families, and supporters to gather for a day of racing and recess.
Playworks students ran alongside their Playworks Coaches, parents alongside their children, and advanced runners alongside beginners. Our Run for Recess is a unique community event that brings together families, young professionals, and community organizations from all over the city of Boston.
Participants began to arrive by 8:30 a.m. and joined in games of fourquare and kickball with Playworks Coaches.
At 10:00 a.m., we kicked off our 1-mile Fun Run led by Akeem Flowers, Program Manager at Playworks. Akeem stole the show on Saturday by dressing up as Marvel’s Black Panther.
At 10:30 a.m., the horn sounded for our 5K race on Franklin Park’s historic cross country course. Runners completed three laps around the course and finished through a high-five tunnel of supporters and Playworks volunteers.
For many participants, our Run for Recess was their first timed race. Prizes were given to 1-mile and 5k winners based on gender and age bracket.
At the Run for Recess, we saw students of all ages from different schools playing and racing together happily respectfully. It was a great example of how the power of play brings communities and young people together.
Together, we raised over $7,500 towards our programming in New England communities.
Thank you to our race day volunteers for your hard work! Thank you to the New Balance Foundation, our lead event sponsor. Thanks to Freshtruck and the Oak Square YMCA for joining us.
To see the results of the 5K, head to the RaceWire website. For more highlights, check out the photo album on Facebook!
