Racing to rebuild

Two years after Sandy, runners will come together to help displaced residents

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Like thousands of other runners, Brooklyn resident Sarah Hartmann was all set to run the New York City Marathon two years ago. But 36 hours before the race, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the event was canceled for the first time in its 42-year history.

Immediately after the storm, Hartmann was compelled to volunteer in some of the hardest-hit areas, including Long Beach, and organized a group of more than 1,000 runners to help residents who were reeling from the devastation.

“We spent three weeks in Long Beach, and we worked directly with the Department of Homeland Security,” Hartmann recalled. “We were affectionately known back then as ‘the runners.’”

The effort led Hartmann to create a new charity last year, Race2Rebuild, a nonprofit that raises money through marathons and other endurance races to help displaced homeowners rebuild after natural disasters nationwide.

To mark the second anniversary of Sandy, Race2Rebuild will launch an inaugural Run, Ride, Rebuild event on Oct. 25, which is aimed at helping communities move forward — and families return home. It will take place in the Rockaways and Prospect Park, Brooklyn, where runners and cyclists will take part in a 5K run and walk, or an 8-mile run, and then volunteer with Rebuilding Together NYC — a chapter of the national nonprofit dedicated to disaster relief projects across the country — to rebuild one of 10 Sandy-damaged homes.

“What we needed to do was bring in serious money and partner with rebuilding organizations to bring people back in their homes,” Hartmann said. “What’s really essential about our program is that the athletes have the opportunity to meet the family they are supporting, so there is a real, tangible connection.”

To date, Race2Rebuild has raised nearly $100,000, and has supported or participated in more than 10 rebuilding projects, Hartmann said.

A satellite Race2Rebuild event will take place in Long Beach as well on Oct. 25: the Long Beach Community 5K Run, which will begin on the boardwalk at New York Avenue. Proceeds from the run, which will be organized by the City of Long Beach and a new local organization, 1156Run, will support the first Run, Ride, Rebuild event in Long Beach, to be held early next year.

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