12th annual Robbie’s Run scheduled for April 30

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The 12th annual Robbie’s Run, a Merrick-based 5K race to benefit Forever 9: The Robbie Levine Foundation, will be held on April 30 at the Levy-Lakeside Elementary School in Merrick.

The foundation is named after a fourth-grader at Levy-Lakeside who died in September 2005 when his heart stopped during a Little League practice. Robbie could have been revived if there had been an automatic external defibrillator on the field and someone trained to use it. Jill and Craig Levine, Robbie’s parents, started their foundation with the goal of preventing the number of deaths caused by heart failure. Forever 9: The Robbie Levine Foundation donates AEDs to schools around the world and offers AED, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first-aid training in middle and high schools across Long Island.

Since 2015, the year Robbie would have been a freshman, the race has included “Robbie’s Run on Campus.” College students who cannot be home for the race can still participate by ordering a custom t-shirt and taking a picture of themselves running five kilometers anywhere on their school’s campus.

In addition to the main race, there will be arts and crafts activities, raffles, food vendors, a half-mile Fun Run for children and a one-mile Mini Run for those who want more than the Fun Run, but less than the 5K. The Fun Run will start at 8:30 a.m., the Mini Run will start at 8:50 a.m. and the 5K will start at 9:15 a.m., all from the Levy-Lakeside Elementary School in Merrick.

The route of the race is as follows:

Start on Lindemere, just north of Byron.

Make a right on Shore Road

Shore Road will turn into Clubhouse Road.

From there, make a right on Beach Drive.

After that, make a right on Cynthia Lane.

From there, make left on Nelson Court.

Then make a left on Joyce Lane.

After that, make a left on Julian Lane.

The course will take a right on Rosebud Avenue.

Next, turn left on Florence Avenue.

Make a right on Beach Drive.

Make a right on Alice Street.

After that, make a left on Montauk Avenue.

Then, turn right on Merrick Road.

After that, turn right on Babylon Road.

Make a left turn into the exit driveway of Levy-Lakeside School and the day’s events will end there with a post-race celebration.

To register for the race, visit www.robbielevinefoundation.org and click the appropriate link under “Featured Events.”