He was an avid tennis player, a political trailblazer and a member of Harlem’s famous political “Gang of Four” who would later become New York City’s first Black mayor. Nine months after his passing, the city’s premier running club will remember David Dinkins by dedicating one of Harlem Week’s most popular athletic events in his honor.
It’s billed as “The Harlem 5K Run Honoring Mayor David Dinkins,” and the road race will bring runners back uptown on Aug. 14, following 2020’s all-virtual edition.
The run also includes a virtual component, which will be held Aug. 7 through Aug. 15.
“In partnership with the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, New York Road Runners is looking forward to honoring the life and contributions of Mayor David Dinkins at our annual Harlem 5K Run,” said Ted Metellus, vice president of events, NYRR, and TCS New York City Marathon race director.
“The Harlem community is an important one for our running community, and we are excited to carry on this long standing tradition as part of Harlem Week and recognize Mayor Dinkins’ legacy,” said Metellus.
Organizers expect as many as 5,000 finishers this year — after having more than the 4,245 virtual finishers in 2020.
This year, runners will set off at 8 a.m. on Aug. 14 from Edgecombe Ave. at W. 136th St., in an event that will take them on a tour of historic uptown while offering them a leg up on qualifying for the TCS New York City Marathon in November.
Along the race route, which winds north to W. 155th St. — before the course takes a U-turn south and heads to the finish line at W. 138th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. — are iconic brownstones, churches and national landmarks, such as The City College of New York’s gothic Shepard Hall.
They are sites once familiar to Dinkins, who was born in Trenton, N.J., on July 10, 1927, and spent part of his childhood in Harlem. He returned to settle in Harlem after marrying his Howard University sweetheart, Joyce Burrows, in 1953.
Years later, Dinkins, a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, helped shape Harlem and New York City as a member of the group famously called the “Gang of Four.” It included Charles Rangel, who later served as an influential U.S. congressman who represented Harlem for 47 years; businessman Percy Sutton, who became Manhattan borough president, and Basil Paterson, a state senator and deputy mayor.
Other events will include a children’s run and a family health walk. The latter, which will also start at 8 a.m. and covers just 1.5 miles, will include members of the NYRR’s Striders program for seniors aged 40 to 100, and honor New York’s first responders.
For information about the 5K Harlem Week race and walk or to register, visit: nyrr.org/Races/Harlem5KRunHonoringMayorDavidDinkins.
