LGA 5K Runway Run Recap

a man jumping in the air
Pre-Race Jump

Yesterday I got to run in my third Runway Run at LaGuardia Airport. (Prior to the race, I wrote about it here) Besides from a chilly start to the day, the race was a really great event. It was probably my favorite runway run that I’ve participated in to date!

So far I’ve ran in runway runs at JFK Airport (Read about it here and here) and Teterboro Airport (Read about it here. I still need to write a recap about the race!)
Next up is the Chicago O’Hare Runway Run which should be a fun and fast trip.

an airplane parked in a tarmac

A couple of things made the LGA Runway Run stand out: 

  • How close we were to the planes that were parked, taxiing and taking off. We had awesome views of lots of planes taking off. Close to the starting line there were a few planes parked. I was surprised at how close we were to them. During the run we passed an area with some small private planes as well as a large Trump airplane.
  • The Course: In my first two runway runs we ran to a midway-point and back. What I loved about the LGA run was that we ran on various parts of the runways and didn’t really circle back to where we started. Check out the map below taken from Kim’s phone.
a map of a runway
Course Map from Kim’s iPhone

Most races usually have a bag check area. The bag check for this race was the smartest and most fitting one I’ve ever seen. For the LGA 5K a couple of Delta baggage carts were used for the bag checks.

a luggage cart with luggage bags
Bag Check provided by Delta

To get to the runway we had to go through a secure area which had a pretty cool warning sign on the gate. I had to stop to take a picture of it. While doing so, the security and staff for the race commented how everyone was stopping to take a picture of the sign. Funny…

a red sign on a fence
a group of people posing for a photo

For the first annual LGA Runway Run there were about 700 people registered to run. The race organizers announced that around 600 people actually ran in the event. Awards were given out for the top 3 finishers in various age categories. There was also some refreshments after the race- bagels, fruits and drinks etc. We also got a nice long sleeve shirt with the race logo on it.

a man and woman with numbers on their shirts
It was announced that the race would become an annual event.
I’ll definitely be entering again next year as long as my schedule allows for it!

3 thoughts on “LGA 5K Runway Run Recap

  1. Hi! I was also the run! My first runway run ever and it was AMAZING!! I was also shocked to see how close we actually were to the planes. It was awesome! I saw you and your lovely wife and wanted to say Hi but I was too shy. So I figured I’ll just say Hi now! 🙂 Can’t wait do my next runway run! I had a blast!

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