West Akron 5k Race

The 13th Annual West Akron African American Wellness 5K Race is fast approaching and we look forward to exceeding last year’s participation and seeing you on Saturday, August 1, 2026! 

The goal of the West Akron 5k Race is to unite the community in a spirit of wellness and philanthropy while raising funds to benefit students in the community. With the support of United Baptist Church, The Akron NAACP, Summa Health, the Gus Johnson Community Foundation, CareSource, Akron Children’s Hospital, Stewart & Calhoun Funeral Home, this year’s race is on track to do just that with the help and support of our long-time sponsors. This 5K Race Initiative aims to bring awareness of disparities with diabetes, high blood pressure, and the risk of stroke among men while also supplying our schools, that are lacking, the resources needed to ensure our children receive the best education possible.

The West Akron 5K was founded by two-time Iraq war veteran and Buchtel alumni Mary Anderson (class of 1994) began the West Akron 5k in 2013 as a means of giving back to the school and community that nurtured her. We aim to unify a community around wellness and philanthropy that benefits the students in the Buchtel Cluster and citizens in Summit County and surrounding areas. The pandemic prompted us to expand into education around COVID-19, testing, and partnering with entities to provide vaccines and boosters. A goal of the 5K Run/Walk is to raise funds in order to supply our cluster schools, that are lacking, the resources needed to ensure our children receive the best education possible while also informing the community about living a healthy life.  

We need your support to take both of these important issues head on! If you can’t run you can walk. If you can’t walk you can still donate!!!

We look forward to another successful race that will benefit the children and families within our community.

Join fellow runners on August 1, 2026 for the West Akron 5k Race. It's a fantastic 5K, 1.6K featuring a flat and fast course in Akron.