Runners take off during last year’s edition of the Mantua VFW’s Running for Vets 5K and 1K walk.
The Mantua VFW will host its sixth annual Running for Vets 5K and 1K walk at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, to benefit needy veterans.
Walk-up entries are available and will take place from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on the day of the event. Pre-entry registrations are also available until Thursday, Oct. 3, on runsignup.com but are not a requirement. Fees can also be found on the website, including for an event T-shirt.
The run will begin and end in front of the VFW and go through Chestnut Branch Park. Awards will include first-, second- and third-place winners for males and females and their respective age groups, 19 and under, 20 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69 and 70 plus. Lunch will be served at the end of the ceremony.
“It’s a pretty nice event,” said Mantua Veterans Commission chairman Joe Heitman. “We try to do things right, and we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback that our event is top-notch. We try to be very active in the township, and it’s very important to Mantua to honor its veterans.
“Between walkers and runners, we had around 120 people last year, and we’re hoping to do better this year,” he added. “We’ve reached out to students to help get word out.”
Proceeds will benefit the veteran’s charity, Operation Yellow Ribbon, the Marlton-based organization that collects supplies to send to troops overseas and helps organize welcome home events for veterans.
“I remember them coordinating a motorcycle escort for homecoming soldiers at one point,” Heitman recalled. “It’s just incredible with what they do.”
The run/walk’s beneficiary changes every year; 2023 proceeds went to the New Jersey Run for the Fallen (NJRFTF). That annual event is held every September to honor New Jersey soldiers who’ve died during the global War on Terror, a series of American campaigns that began after 9/11 and ended with the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in 2021.
Last year’s Running for Vets event saw the VFW present a check to the vice president of Operation Yellow Ribbon, who attended the event. Heitman hopes the group’s president will be at this year’s run.
