WESTFIELD – Gordy’s First Race 5K and 10K will return on New Year’s Day at the Westfield Boys & Girls Club for another year remembering the life and legacy of long-time runner and Boys & Girls Club supporter Gordon Bates.
Sponsored by the club, the race has grown over the last decade plus as runners each year start the new year off with a race hosted in the memory of Bates. Westfield Boys & Girls CEO Club Bo Sullivan said that as a volunteer of the club, Bates was already a lead on the club’s annual half marathon event. After his passing in 2008, friends of Bates from the Springfield Runners Club and the Boys & Girls club eventually came together and create this event in Bates’ honor.
“They started a race on New Year’s Day in honor of Gordy, so we’ve just kept it going for these last 16 years,” Sullivan said. “He was a good supporter of the club, so we kept it going right here and all the proceeds come right to programming for the club.”
