Thank you to the hundreds of participants who came out for the Race of Hope to Defeat Depression! This year’s event was a huge success! More than 700 men, women, and children gathered on a sunny Sunday morning in Southampton to take part in the fourth annual Race on August 4.
The high-energy crowd set out at 8:30 AM to complete a tree-lined 5K course around Lake Agawam. Race Co-Grand Marshals Sailor Brinkley Cook, Jack Brinkley Cook, HDRF Founder Audrey Gruss, and Board member Arthur Dunnam led the way. The USA Track and Field-sanctioned race raised more than $280,000 for advanced depression research, setting a new record for the event.
Hope was in abundant supply as everybody sported caps and tech shirts in HDRF’s signature sunshine yellow. The competitive runners, joined by Sailor Brinkley Cook and Jack Brinkley Cook, burst through the starting line, followed by first-time runners, walkers, corporate teams, families, children, and plenty of canine friends.
Speaking from the steps of the Southampton Cultural Center just before the starting gun, HDRF Founder and Chair Audrey Gruss said, “In the United States, depression is the leading cause of suicide, and affects more than 18-million adults each year. Among teens, depression and suicide rates are the highest on record. We must turn the tide on depression and suicide in this country, but we can’t do it without your help, so thank you all for coming out to support the cause today.”
Following the Race, Audrey Gruss and her team presented medals for best times in various age categories. Dan Gargaro won the best time in the Adult Male category, and Tara Farrell won the best time in the Adult Female category. Griffin Schwartz, age 13, won for best youth male (13-15), and Lily Kurmanick, age 13, won for best youth female (13-15).
Gruss then presented Arthur Dunnam with an award for Top Fundraising Team, and Scott Snyder with an award for Top Individual Fundraiser. Kim Heirston received the runner-up award and a notable mention highlighting that $10,000 of the funds she had raised had been donated by Oprah Winfrey. Natasha Jeffries, of Dakari’s Heartbeats, also won an award for Team Captain of the Largest Team with 35 members.
HDRF is going to get right to work on the 2020 Southampton Race of Hope, because until there is a cure, our job is not done. The next Race of Hope will take place in Palm Beach, FL on Saturday, February 15, 2020. It will then continue in Southampton in summer 2020!
You can view wonderful photos of the day by following the links below:
Photos by J. VanderWatt for Rob Rich
You can view all of the finisher times by clicking here
To read more about the event, visit Dan’s Papers
Thank you again to ALL our event donors, participants, and volunteers. Your commitment to HDRF’s critical research mission is making a world of difference.