WESTFIELD — Run Westfield’s Flat Fast 5K Road Race has come to an end. For 12 years, this race became a beloved tradition in the town, bringing together athletes, families, neighbors, volunteers, and sponsors through fitness, entertainment and philanthropy.
“It will be sadly missed,” said founder Michael Tierney. “It became much more than a road race; it became a community event. It’s going to be a huge loss for downtown Westfield.”
“It’s unfortunate,” said Westfield Mayor Michael McCabe, who was a charter member of the race committee and ran nearly every year since its inception. “It brought thousands of runners and walkers during each event. People looked forward to the Flat Fast 5K. It was a uniquely Westfield event, and it’s going to be something that’s missed.”
Tierney, a Westfield resident, was chairman of the St. Patrick’s Road Race in Holyoke for 37 years and at that point thought there should be a race in downtown Westfield. The Flat Fast 5K debuted in 2013, and soon the race itself became the fastest 5K in the nation.
Westfield resident Mary Cook owns CrossFit Swarm with her husband Brian in downtown Westfield. For their CrossFit Swarm community, this race became a yearly highlight and something their members genuinely looked forward to. Over the years, they were honored to take both first- and second-place team finishes, with a portion of their registration fees donated to charities close to their hearts. Through Run Westfield, donations were made on their behalf to the Westfield Animal Shelter, the Westfield Soup Kitchen and the Westfield Food Pantry.
Beyond the numbers, Cook’s favorite memories are seeing members use their fitness outside the gym, some running their very first 5K, others walking, all of them supporting and cheering on one another from start to finish. Cook said everyone celebrated together at the end.
“It’s truly bittersweet to see Run Westfield’s Flat Fast 5K come to an end after 12 years,” Cook said. “While I completely understand how much work and dedication goes into organizing an event like this, it’s still really sad to see it close.” She went on to say, “Run Westfield has meant so much to the greater Westfield community. It brought people together in a positive, healthy way and gave residents an opportunity to support meaningful local causes while celebrating our city. Events like this strengthen community ties, showcase what makes Westfield special, and remind us how powerful it is when people come together for a common purpose.”
Westfield Community Development Director Peter Miller has run the race a handful of times but was mostly responsible for coordinating the 5K Cool Down Block Party. His favorite memories of the event include watching his youngest son, Luke, and his wife, Karen, finish the race. The event provided his family the opportunity to spend some sunny spring afternoons in downtown Westfield with many longtime friends.
“It’s really the end of a great era,” said Miller. “These past 12 years, I’ve looked forward to Run Westfield as the unofficial kickoff to the spring and summer season in Downtown Westfield.” He continued, “We owe a debt of gratitude to Mike Tierney, Kevin Matys, and Westfield Bank as the primary sponsor for their decade-plus of dedication to managing this event in a first-class manner. It is going to be a challenge to fill the void this event leaves behind.”
Tierney said the only expense that they are unable to control is the cost of the race with police and fire protection. Those expenses, primarily the police, have increased to the point where they weren’t able to balance the budget. “We try to give back to the runners,” Tierney explained. “We try to charge them a fee that is very reasonable and try to build the event. We felt that we couldn’t charge them anymore to balance the budget, so it evolved into an event that we could no longer sustain because of those expenses.”
As a committee, Tierney can’t foresee themselves doing it any longer. Some of the people who worked with him at the St. Patrick’s Day Road Race in Holyoke came over with him to form this race. “It’s probably time for someone else to come in and try to do something different,” Tierney said. “We’ve had a twelve-year run and a tremendous satisfaction that we started something from scratch and [were] able to create something like this for Westfield because of our committee, the people that work together, and we had fun doing it.”
