Upcoming racing events support good causes

One of the first things Father H. Paul Kim did when he arrived at Holy Korean Martyrs in Woodlawn in January 2025 was to challenge his parishioners to join him at the Baltimore Running Festival in October 2025.

An avid runner for more than 21 years, Father Kim believes the goal of the living person is “to have a sound body for oneself as well as a sound mind to help others,” he wrote in an email. He organized a weekly class “Body and Spirituality to the Full” to teach about the body, faith and how to properly walk and run. While group members did not run together, he encouraged participants to run three times a week.

“Eventually 36 parishioners finished the race last year and raised more than $25,000,” Father Kim said. Half the funds raised were sent to priests in Bolivia and Kazakhstan to support children at Christmas, he said.

This year, Father Kim started the class in June. By mid-August, 36 people had registered to run in the festival as part of the social team Holy Korean Martyrs #2. He is hoping that number will increase by the Oct. 17 running date.

“The reason to do this is that I see the importance of the sound body for living faith and I will continue to do that,” Father Kim said.

Parishioners at Holy Korean Martyrs are not the only ones lacing up their running shoes to hit the pavement and trails around the Archdiocese of Baltimore this running season. With the arrival of fall, the calendar fills with numerous 5Ks and marathons, many held in support of a good cause. 

In the archdiocese, races in Ellicott City, Towson and Catonsville have been featured throughout the years, raising awareness and funds while bringing people together.

23rd Annual Ellicott City Labor Day 10K and 5K

Doug Angradi never thought he would be organizing a 10K race in Ellicott City for 23 years. Yet at 5:30 a.m. Sept. 5, he will be at the Shrine of St. Anthony once again for the beloved Knights of Columbus event he started.

“Back in the day, I ran high school track and cross country. I’ve been a runner all my life,” Angradi, now 62, said. “When we (the Knights) started having meetings at the Shrine, I thought it was a perfect place to have a running event.”

He pitched the idea to his fellow Knights in the Knights of Columbus St. Louis the King Council and the rest is history.

“It grew into this community-wide event that so many people look forward to,” Angradi said, of the race, which travels along the roads in western Ellicott City and is USATF certified (it meets USA Track and Field national standards). “It brings so many people to the shrine who had never been here before.”

Cash awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers overall and non-cash awards will be provided in seven age group categories for first, second and third place. Proceeds benefit local charities.

The 23rd Annual Ellicott City Labor Day 10K and 5K is scheduled for Sept. 5 at the Shrine of St. Anthony, 12290 Folly Quarter Road in Ellicott City. Race time is 8 a.m.

Run for Life

The annual Run for Life in Emmitsburg supports the Catoctin Pregnancy Center in Frederick County while honoring the memory of Father Darin Didier, a former seminarian at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg and an avid runner. Father Didier died from a rare form of cancer in 2005, just three months after he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fargo, N.D.

Howard S. Hagan, treasurer of Knights of Columbus Bruté Council #1860 at St. Joseph Parish in Emmitsburg, said the need for support of the pregnancy center continues to grow. In an email promoting the race, Hagan noted that the pregnancy center has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of clients served this year.

Proceeds benefit the Catoctin Pregnancy Center and its ministry to women, babies and families.

The Run for Life is scheduled for Sept. 12 at Mount St. Mary’s University, 16300 Old Emmitsburg Road, Emmitsburg. Participants may choose a 1-mile fun run/walk at 9 a.m. or a 5K run/walk at 9:30 a.m.

The 19th Annual Jessica Meredith Jacobsen Memorial 5K and Fun Walk

Every year, John Meredith feels the spirit of his daughter, Jessica Meredith Jacobsen, at the Knights of Columbus #4011 5K and Fun Run held in her honor.

“She was a runner,” Meredith said, of Jacobsen, who was shot and killed by her husband, who then killed himself, Sept. 14, 2007. “I’m not in charge (of the race), but I’m deeply involved in it. It’s really been a nice event.”

At the time of her death, Jacobsen’s son was enrolled at Immaculate Conception School in Towson. A portion of the funds raised from the race is donated to the school for scholarships and many students and their families participate in the race, he said.

“We put together a poster every year for back-to-school night to promote it,” Meredith said. “Ones that started out with the first are finished with college.”

The race also benefits House of Ruth Maryland, a nonprofit that strives to end violence against women and their children, and the Knights of Columbus’ Father O’Neill Charities.

Cash prizes are awarded for the top three female and male overall finishers, and age-group medals will be awarded to the top male and female finishers.

The 19th Annual Jessica Meredith Jacobsen Memorial 5K and Fun Walk is scheduled for Sept. 19 at Immaculate Conception School, 112 Ware Ave., Towson. Both the race and walk start at 8 a.m.

The 13th Annual Nun Run 5K and 1 mile run/walk

Little Sisters of the Poor will host its 13th annual Nun Run 5K and 1-mile run/walk Sept. 19 at a new location: the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in Catonsville.

“It’s quite a change. It used to be at the cathedral (Cathedral of Mary Our Queen) through the streets of Baltimore,” Little Sister of the Poor Sister Lawrence Mary Pocock said. “Now it is entirely on campus. We hope to attract a lot of the student population.”  

The race raises funds for the care of the elderly residents at St. Martin’s Home for the Aged in Catonsville.

“It is successful, but we always like it to be bigger and better,” Sister Mary Lawrence said. “A large crowd is always more fun.”

Awards will be given to the top finishers and age bracket winners. Special awards, including for parish pride and team awards, will also be distributed.

The Nun Run is scheduled for Sept. 19, 8 a.m. at UMBC Campus Quad, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore.

More details on the events listed in this story may be found in our calendar of events at www.archbalt.org/events. 

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

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