July 2, 2026
On Saturday, June 27, Grassroots Health hosted our very first 5K & Fun Run.
We’ve participated in 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, and even full marathons before. We’ve had incredible runners fundraise for our mission over the years. But somehow, we’d never hosted one ourselves. Looking back… I’m really not sure why.
What. A. Morning!
Runners started arriving before 7:30 a.m. to check in. Before we knew it, an impromptu stretching circle had formed, led by former student-athlete volunteers who were excited to be back together. There were hugs with parents of our athletes as we met them for the first time, middle school students seeing each other outside the classroom, teachers who brought colleagues along, volunteers reconnecting over summer break, longtime funders introducing themselves to brand new supporters, board members pushing strollers, and a few families sprinting over after someone inevitably slept through the alarm for the Fun Run.
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[All photographs by Cara Geschu, a staff member of many talents]
Old friends and new friends all found themselves in the same place on a muggy Saturday morning in DC. Running, walking, cheering each other on, and simply spending time together.
Our team poured so much into making this event happen. Maria planned every detail, reached out to local businesses for donations, chased sponsorship opportunities, and even took her dog out a month beforehand to map the course and film a promo video. Maddie spent weeks creating marketing materials, organizing registration, coordinating volunteers, designing race bibs, printing them herself, making flyers, and emailing what felt like half the DMV. Staff and interns gathered to hand-make medals and round up prizes in the days leading up to the race.
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Our community showed up, too.
Call Your Mother fueled everyone with bagels. Target donated water and Gatorade. Two longtime supporters, the APA Fund and Graham Capital, responded to a sponsorship request within minutes with enthusiastic yeses. Friends pooled their own money together to sponsor the event. Our newest foundation partner, The RizKids Foundation, met our team in person for the first time and joined the Fun Run with huge smiles on their faces.
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Volunteers lined the canal cheering on every runner, and I can confirm that runner’s high is very, very real. More than 70 runners and walkers crossed the finish line smiling.
Lasting Impact
We raised over $15,000 to support additional programming with new school partners this year, and we’re incredibly grateful for that. But my favorite part wasn’t the fundraising.
It was watching so many different parts of the Grassroots Health community exist in the same space. Athletes, students, teachers, donors, board members, volunteers, staff, family, and friends all spending a summer morning together, being active and building the kind of community that makes this work so meaningful.
I really can’t believe we waited this long to host a 5K.
Start training. We’ll see you in spring 2027.
Jane Wallis,
Executive Director
