On track: Pittsburgh's Great Race returns
The Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race is back on course.
The 44th annual running of the Richard Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race will be held in person this year.
As is customary, the run occurs on the last Sunday of September. This year, that date is Sept. 26.
Registration opens here at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Like most major events, the 2020 in-person edition was canceled because of the pandemic. There was a virtual option.
“We are glad to bring it back,” said Brian Katze, special events manager for the city of Pittsburgh and Great Race director. “It’s an important event in Pittsburgh every year. It’s a time for friends and families to enjoy a fun run.”
Katze said the past few months his office has been working with city officials and P3R, a running organization that helps with organizing races on finalizing details.
He said Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement to lift Pennsylvania’s covid-19 mitigation orders on Memorial Day and the state’s masking order will be dropped once 70% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated that he will be comfortable hosting the race.
The 10K begins at 9:30 a.m. The course begins in Frick Park and finishes at Point State Park. The 5K begins at 8 a.m. at Fifth Avenue and Atwood Street in Oakland.
The Dollar Bank Junior Great Race is 11 a.m. on Sept. 25 in Point State Park.
Katze said there will once again be a virtual component because registration is usually open in January.
“Some runners may have made plans for that day and others may not feel comfortable coming to the race,” he said.
Runners who have never competed or who haven’t run in a few years have time to train for the race.
This time frame also gives the city time to plan all the logistics of the race and gather the 300 volunteers it takes to make it possible.
The annual event started in 1977, when former Pittsburgh Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri established the race as a “community fun run.” He died of amyloidosis, a disease that attacks tissue and organs. One dollar from each registration benefits amyloidosis.
According to organizers, more than 250,000 people have participated in the Great Race, making it the largest 10K race in Pennsylvania.
There are 21 men who are known as the “Perfect Great Racers,” because they’ve run everyone, including last year’s virtual run.
Katze said the fact the perfect Great Racers still competed — some ran the course together on the last Sunday last September — despite there not being an official event speaks volumes.
“That shows how dedicated they are to this race and to this city,” Katze said. “They wanted to keep the streak alive even in the face of a pandemic.”
He said the most recent races drew 12,000 to 15,000 people. Last year’s virtual edition attracted more than 4,000.
“That shows that this race means a lot to people in this city,” he said. “I am excited to see our turnout this year.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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