Miles 4 Smiles
About this race
The annual Miles 4 Smiles Run/Walk 5K is back! This family-friendly, charity 5K race is open to all community members and raises money for our youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit Leaders for Youth Sports. Founded by high school students Aanya Goel, Brianna Zhang, and Janelle Yao, Leaders for Youth Sports works to break down the financial barriers blocking children from pursuing sports through donating equipment, organizing free sports programming, hosting sports clinics, sponsoring free sports leagues, organizing field days, and more throughout West Michigan.
Race Information🍌 Post-race snacks and drinks are provided (pizza and snacks!)
🏆 Prize baskets will be given out to top finishers
🛍️ Each participant receives a goody bag
📚 Student discounts offered! Use code "StudentDiscount" for Registration Only or "StudentDiscountShirt" for Registration + Shirt
👧 Kids under age 5 register for free
👕 Guarantee a shirt by purchasing online
🗓 Check-in begins at 9:15am on August 8th. Race begins at 10am.
More info- Online registration closes August 7th at 7pm.
- Information packets via email on August 7th. These packets include route maps, arrival/ending times, volunteer information, etc.
- For those who do not register online by August 7th at 7 pm, come in person at 9:15 am to register day-of and pay in cash.
- Limited amounts of t-shirts will be sold on the day of the race for $15, paid with cash.
- Children under the age of 5 years old are free!
Leaders for Youth Sports is a youth-led nonprofit founded by local high school students Brianna Zhang, Janelle Yao, and Aanya Goel. As dancers, tennis players, and soccer players facing financial barriers to playing sports, our mission is to make youth sports more accessible and build future leaders. According to a 2022 study by the financial services company LendingTree, 60% of families experience financial strain from their children's sports. Due to their high cost from classes to equipment and transportation, sports are a financial strain on many families. Sports extracurriculars are vital to the healthy development of children, contributing to their physical fitness, cognitive skills, social life, emotional well-being, leadership abilities, and so much more. Thousands of children have to grow up without access to these integral developmental activities, and Leaders for Youth Sports is empowering young leaders to take action and help kids in their own communities.
Leaders for Youth Sports has directly helped over 1,000 children so far through free programming (clinics, leagues, field days, bubble runs, free equipment distributions, etc.), providing resources to safely navigate youth sports, and conducting sports equity research. Leaders for Youth Sports currently operates in Portage, Kalamazoo, Parchment, Comstock, Lawrence, and Grand Rapids.
Funds raised at the Miles 4 Smiles charity 5K will go toward our youth sports programs to help more kids participate in sports in more communities.
PrizesFemale
- 17 and under
- 18-45
- 46+
Male
- 17 and under
- 18-45
- 46+
Website: leadersforyouthsports.org
Instagram: @leadersforyouthsports
Pick your distance
Running
Registration + Shirt
Registration Only
Typical race-day weather
Based on 12 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Kalamazoo, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 6:35 AM and sets at 9:01 PM local time (EDT) in Kalamazoo on August 1, 2026 — 14h 26m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
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2026 results — Miles 4 Smiles
Registration + Shirt · 29 finishers
| Place | Name | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michelle Magagna | 18:09 | 5:50 /mi |
| 2 | David Furchak | 23:16 | 7:29 /mi |
| 3 | Ben Bakalyar | 24:35 | 7:55 /mi |
| 4 | G. Zhang | 27:39 | 8:54 /mi |
| 5 | Dan Velicer | 27:55 | 8:59 /mi |
Every finisher is on the results page, filterable by distance, gender and age group.
All results by year
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🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Kalamazoo
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Kalamazoo 5K Races 14 races
- 10K Run Events in Kalamazoo 3 races
- Kalamazoo Running Calendar 2026 25 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 26 Kalamazoo events
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