Race for the Red 5K

Enjoy a flat and fast course around Riverside Park. The route will be a closed course on the beautiful paths.

Participants will receive a unique firefighter themed shirt and finishers medal.

Turnout Challenge:  Walk or run in full turnout (except for running shoes) in our special Firefighters Challenge! Turnout gear not provided

Race Day Schedule
8:20–9:20 a.m. — Packet pickup
9:20 a.m. — National Anthem, sung by Carlye Haisma
9:25 a.m. — Pre-race briefing
9:30 a.m. — Race start
10:15 a.m. — Awards ceremony

The race will officially finish when the last participant crosses the finish line.

Location
Riverside Park
2001 Monroe Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505

We will be near the baseball fields. You should see a giant start line and a firetruck, so we should be pretty easy to find!

Parking
There is plenty of parking in the Riverside Park lot. There is also free parking nearby along Monroe Avenue and on adjacent side streets.

Please give yourself enough time to park, walk over, and pick up your packet before the race starts.

Packet Pickup
Packet pickup will be from 8:20–9:20 a.m. next to the start line by the bathroom building.

Your packet will include your race bib and T-shirt. No ID is required for packet pickup.

Please do not wait until the last minute to pick up your packet. A number of our runners have graciously volunteered to help with packet pickup before the race, and we want to make sure they have time to get to the start line too.

T-shirt size exchanges will be available after the race. Late registrations that were not guaranteed a shirt will also be handled after the race. As of now, it looks like we have everyone covered — no pun intended!

Course Information
The course is flat and paved. There are a few rough areas, so please watch your footing and be careful not to trip.

The course will be well marked with signs and chalk. It should be hard to get lost — but please still pay attention to the course markings and volunteers.

There will be an aid station at approximately the halfway point. There is also a small bathroom near the one-mile mark, just off the course.

Restrooms
We will have three porta-potties on site in addition to the Riverside Park bathhouse, which has three stalls for men and three stalls for women.

Weather
We will not speculate on the weather just yet, but the race will happen rain or shine unless conditions become unsafe, such as lightning.

Awards
Finisher Medals for all participants. 

Awards will be given to first, second, and third place in each age group.

We will also have an award for the overall finisher of the Turnout Challenge.

To qualify for the Turnout Challenge, you must wear your turnout pants and coat. Boots are not required or recommended. A helmet is optional — but I’ll be real impressed if you win in a helmet.

Post-Race
After the race, we will have a food truck on site, with 10% of proceeds donated to Neighbors United.

We will also have free donuts and are still working on a few more snack supplies, so keep an eye out for some unannounced extras!

Volunteers and Registration
If you know someone who would like to volunteer, please send them to the RunSignUp page and have them register to come hang out with us.

We are also still accepting race registrations until 5:30 a.m. on race morning.

Final Note
We are so excited for race day. Thank you in advance for your patience as we work through the hurdles we didn’t even know existed when hosting a race for the first time.

Your support is helping us make a difference for firefighters and families, and we are incredibly grateful.

See you in just a few short days!

Ed and Ashley