Simone also spoke with Josh Friedman, the athletic director of W.T. Clarke High School, who organizes Clarke’s annual Run with the Rams 5K and 1-mile fun run. Last year’s fifth annual race, which kicked off on the school grounds in Westbury, attracted more than 550 participants.

Having the McVey 5K in the fall served a dual purpose, said Simone: it coincides with Red Ribbon Week and does not conflict with Clarke’s race, a spring event. Friedman, he said, was “wonderful,” providing valuable information on how to get started. “We’re hoping we can bring the same to the East Meadow side of the district,” Simone said.

To raise funds, he approached local business owners that he knew had a history of donating to local causes. “Most of the businesses I went to … they were so willing to help out and get us the money raised,” Simone said.

The next step was choosing a charitable beneficiary. Wanting to align with the themes of Red Ribbon Week, school officials settled on the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, a Mineola-based organization that focuses on alcohol- and drug-related problems. “LICADD is thrilled to have been named a beneficiary of this exciting event,” said its executive director, Dr. Jeff Reynolds, “and we’re happy to be working with McVey Elementary on their Wellness Week activities.”

LICADD is no stranger to charitable races in East Meadow. On New Year’s Day, in conjunction with Nassau County, it organized and sponsored the first annual 5K New Year’s Eve Dash at Eisenhower Park. Reynolds, an avid runner who participated in the midnight run, said the money he receives from the McVey 5K “will help LICADD enhance [its] efforts in East Meadow, serve even more families and allow us to deepen our relationship with McVey and other schools in the district.”

The 5K will begin at 9 a.m., and the cost to enter is $22, or $25 on the day of the race, and $15 for East Meadow School District students, or $20 the day of the race. The 1-mile fun run, which will start at 8:30 a.m., is $10 if postmarked before Oct. 13, and $15 after that.