Fort Lee is a town of ~40k people and by far better known for its diverse population and ubiquitous Korean fried chicken joints than its Chinese runners. Well this past Sunday, Bergen Runners and Fort Lee Chinese families came together and momentarily redrew the landscape of our town with ~50 out of ~300 5k runners from one of these two groups. What started as a banter among four people (who are also probably better known for their love for Korean fried chicken than running) evolved into a community effort to bring families in Fort Lee and across Bergen County together through fitness.

In the two practice runs ahead of the event, we saw the youngest members of our community outrunning the grown-ups and offering a beam of hope that we are passing the baton to a better generation. A collaborative spirit shone as our beloved Jenny volunteered to scoop up 20+ bibs and packets for our runners! (And neatly labeling each no less. We see a future in event planning for her.)

The settings of the race day brought challenges: humidity and higher temperature. But the don’t-expect-anything-less-than-1000%-positive-vibes from our runners foreshadowed another spectacular day for our crew. Our very own native son Jerry-I-can-jump-and-run-in-style and our endeared neighbor from Edgewater, aka evergreen-this-is-my-nth-win-Jing, both took home the top honor in their age group.

No celebration is complete without a hearty meal. What better way to wrap up the day than grabbing some mouthwatering dim sum at Aquarius in Fort Lee. No only was the shop owner’s hospitality second to none, so was her commitment to the community as Aquarius was one of the sponsors of the event. Thank you and go Team Joyce!!!

#fortlee5k #fitnessasacommunity #fortleerocks #bergenrunners #loverunning #littlelegs #onestepatatime #RunForFunFunToRun

Event photos