“I Have This Idea!!!” 5k Recap Story & Photos
“I Have This Idea!!!”
Ray called me over a year ago and started telling me how we could raise money for the Men of the Sacred Hearts. My first reaction was not so positive.
Ray is one of our younger members who practices his faith and likes to promote it. We first met him and his bride-to-be at his parents’ home. After they were married, Ray called us to consecrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their new townhouse. Later, they called us back to pray for a baby. We eventually brought our statue of Our Lady of Fatima to their home to help focus their prayers to the Blessed Mother and, ultimately, to her Son, Jesus.
Now Ray had an idea to help raise money for our ministry: a 5K Fun Run.
I think I said sponsoring a pancake breakfast wasn't in our playbook. Ray politely explained that a 5K is a timed 3.1-mile run.
Oh, a race? Yes!
My first thought was, “Not interested.” Then I caught myself. We are an apostolate of old men. Our youngest board member is approaching retirement. I figured we should at least hear him out. I invited Tom Furnari to join the committee since he had run the Boston Marathon.
This was April 2025. Ray would handle the race details, and I would handle paying the bills, permits and whatever else was needed. We originally set a date for September 2025, quickly realized that wasn't realistic, and moved it to the following year.
And so began the 1st Annual Men of the Sacred Hearts 5K Fun Run and 1-Mile Walk for Families.
From day one, we wanted Holy Family Regional School in Rochester to be a co-sponsor. The Men of the Sacred Hearts and HFRS have a long history of Enthroning the Sacred Heart of Jesus at their two campuses. I called Head of School Bridget Hondzinski.
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You have to love a “Bridget.” She is a visionary and a schoolteacher who knows what the rotten fifth-grade boy is thinking before he thinks it. She LOVED the idea. The race would build community, foster fellowship among families and bring together the large HFRS community of more than 900 students. Since the elementary school is on the property of St. Andrew Catholic Church, we also invited St. Andrew’s to join us. Father Brian was a big YES.
Gee, this was starting to look like a slam dunk.
Bridget offered to fill the staff positions with her teachers. I didn't even know we needed “staff positions,” but I agreed it was a great idea. Ray had never organized a 5K, but he had run in plenty of them. We were babes in the woods with an idea and the passion to pull it off. With Tom’s help, we also began lining up sponsors to offset the cost. Registration was set at the going rate for a local 5K: $35, which included a race T-shirt featuring the Men of the Sacred Hearts, St. Andrew’s and HFRS logos.
Our longtime vendor, Office Express, helped us bring the T-shirt and promotional materials to life. The board approved the project, seeing it as both good outreach and an opportunity to introduce younger people to our mission of bringing prayer into the Domestic Church - the home.
For registration and race timing, Ray contacted Eastside Racing. They handled online registration, payments, the start and finish lines, and the timing chips on each runner’s bib. Another thing we didn't have to figure out ourselves!
We began promoting the race at St. Andrew’s and other churches. Registration was slow at first, but those who run know that registrations pick up as race day approaches. They did.
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Of course, Jan, our Office Manager and Bookkeeper, suggested we needed a cash box for late registrations. I told her no one uses cash anymore. I should have taken a picture of her face when she called me over on race morning and asked if I had change for a $50 bill. Thankfully, most of the cash payers simply made their change a donation. I only had to find a $10 bill for one $40 registration.
Race morning brought a few more surprises. We started later than the posted 9 AM time because we were still handing out T-shirts and pinning bibs onto runners. Thankfully, our HFRS volunteer teachers knew we needed four bobby pins per bib and came prepared with a whole box. What a save!
We started the 5K and walk in three shifts to reduce bunching along the route through the Rochester neighborhood. The first 5K runner came back in 24 minutes. The next runner arrived a minute later, and then the rest began coming in.
I was amazed at how quickly the time passed from the start to the finish.
To keep everyone together after the race, we raffled off a beautiful 16 x 20-inch wood-framed image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We wanted everyone to hear our message and give us an opportunity to thank them for being part of the day.
Most runners took the time to tell our red-shirted 5K staff how much they enjoyed the race and the time together. We provided snacks and water before and after the race, and not one snack wrapper ended up on the pavement. The two garbage cans were nearly full when we cleaned up.
What a great group of “family” we had.
We want to thank everyone who registered, volunteered, sponsored and helped make our first 5K a success. What started with Ray saying, “I have this idea!!!” became a wonderful day of family, fellowship and faith.
And we're doing it again.
Save the Date! September 25, 2027, the Men of the Sacred Hearts and Holy Family Regional School will host the Second Annual 5K Fun Run and 1-Mile Walk.
Hope to see you there!
