Oakdale Firecracker 5K this weekend

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Celebrate the Fourth of July at the Oakdale Firecracker 5K! The run consists of three separate races on the Fourth: a 5K run, a 1.5-mile walk, and a free kids fun run. Hosted at the picturesque Bourne Mansion in Oakdale, the course will be a mix of paved roads and grass.

The 5K run has a race fee of $35 and kicks off at 8:30 a.m., while the 1.5-mile walk also has a race fee of $35 and begins at 8:40 a.m. Proceeds will be donated to the Oakdale Historical Society, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the prolific history of Oakdale. Prizes will be given to the winners of five-year age groups, as well as the top female and male runners.

Children are encouraged to join in on the fun, as strollers are welcome and the free kids fun run offered to children ages 10 and under, begins at 8 a.m.

Last year’s 5K had over 500 runners. This year there are already 400 registrants on the roster.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Sponsorship Team, Sandy Race and Connie Varone, we have increased the number of local businesses and community members who are sponsoring the event,” said Oakdale Civic president and race coordinator, David Chan.

Most notably, the 5K has had a slew of new Gold Medal Sponsors, including Catholic Health Services/Good Samaritan Hospital, Compass Realty (The Vanderbilt Team), and Noble Elevator.

In addition, the 5K race is officially part of the popular Sayville Summer Series held by the Sayville Running Company on Main Street.

“I am happy that the event continues to grow since bringing it back last year… It has been great working in cooperation with them to promote our race as well as the series. Organizing a race is a difficult and time-consuming task. However, seeing how the community has embraced the event makes it all worthwhile,” said Chan.

The 5K is a fundraiser for the Oakdale Historical Society, particularly the renovation and restoration of St. John’s Church.

“Under the direction of our race director, Dave Chan, this looks to be even bigger and better than last year!” said OHS president Maryann Almes.

Last year, the fundraiser earned almost $15,000 toward the St. John’s Historic Church Window Restoration Project.

Restoration artist Jeremiah McGiff, of Wild Boar Restoration, offered to work with OHS in stages, as the full price tag of window restoration for the colonial-era church is hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Upon completion, McGiff presented St. John’s Church with a period-appropriate mahogany and copper screen for one of the windows at no additional cost.

“It is our hope that this year’s run will fund the restoration of the north-facing windows and their screens. Last year’s run had just over 500 participants. This year we are shooting for a cap of 600. The Oakdale community and local businesses have been overwhelmingly generous! We are happy to announce that many of our sponsors returned this year and we have added many, many more,” said Almes.

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