The Queens Running Collective, a coalition of six running groups, is inviting community members to enjoy a fun-filled day of movement at the 2nd annual Queens Olympics event at Victory Field in Forest Park on Saturday, Aug. 13.
The family-friendly event will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. with community members and elected officials. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children.
All ages and abilities are welcome to participate in the following events:
- Individual races: 100m, 200m, 400m, 1 mile.
- Relays (co-ed): 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m.
- Children’s races: 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay.
Medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each event and to all children. Following the event, there will be a community celebration at 11:30 a.m. at Neir’s Tavern, located at 87-48 78th St. in Woodhaven.
The Queens Olympics was established last year around the same time as the Olympics being held in Japan, according to Ashley Dean, a member of The Queens Running Collective.
“Many people get inspired by the Olympics to run or take on events or sports that they can. We wanted to provide the community with an opportunity to do so. They may be new to running but we wanted to encourage all abilities to come out and get active for the day, including children,” Dean said.
Last year’s event drew at least 50 to 60 people, according to Dean. This year, they’re looking forward to bringing the community together, once again.
“We love hosting this mostly because of the children aspect. It’s really awesome to see kids come out and have the opportunity to be active amongst meeting children they may not know, and bringing the community together to bring movement in,” Dean said.
The Queens Running Collective, which was established in the summer of 2020, includes Queens Distance Runners, Run Hustle Run, We Run Hollis, WEPA, Woodside-Sunnyside Runners and World’s Fair Run Crew, uniting for community action.
The collective has hosted a number of events including Run2Vote, holiday toy drives and Black History Month runs. For more information, follow @QueensRunningCollective on Instagram.
