Greater Bay Shore coverage is funded in part by Shoregate, now leasing brand-new premium apartment homes in the heart of Bay Shore. Click here to schedule a tour.
The YMCA 5K Run in Memory of Judi will be getting underway at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 3, in front of the Great South Bay YMCA in Bay Shore.
And the annual event’s organizers are looking for participants from all walks of life to join them. Even babies.
“We’re allowing strollers this year,” said Michele Rizzo, a race organizer and director at the YMCA/Boulton Center for Performing Arts in Bay Shore. “And, people don’t have to run; they can sign up and walk and just make it a thing with family and friends.”
Online pre-registration is $25 and runs until midnight Thursday (click here). It’s then $30 for adults the morning-of, or $15 for students 13-18 and $10 for children 12 and under. The YMCA is at 200 West Main Street.
Proceeds benefit women in the community who are battling breast cancer. Applications for assistance are available through Great South Bay YMCA, and the process is confidential.
Rizzo said a great thing is that proceeds from the race aren’t restricted when it comes to how the recipients might use the money.
“It doesn’t have to go to medical bills,” she said. “It’s for whatever they need to relieve the stress in their lives. Some families going through treatment don’t get it help.”
It’s all done in honor and memory of good friend to the community, Judi Shesh, who was a YMCA preschool teacher.
She lost her second battle to breast cancer in April of 2001, at 41.
The YMCA’s flyer for Saturday’s race reads: “Her courage, love, and kindness will live forever in the hearts of the people who knew and loved her.”
Photo: Runners and walkers at the 2016 YMCA 5K Run in Memory of Judi. (Credit: Jennifer Mercurio/Lasting Impressions Photography)
Editor’s note: The initial version of this story incorrectly indicated the race’s proceeds benefitted one recipient, as well as a YMCA cancer recovery program. The story has since been amended for accuracy.
