Community News

Robbie's Run keeps on growing

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A heavy rain could not stop hundreds from running or walking in the 11th annual Robbie’s Run at Levy-Lakeside Elementary School in Merrick on May 22, as the event has continued to grow since its start in 2006. James Forte, a 17-year-old senior on the Calhoun High School track team, won the 5K for the second straight year, with a time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds.

The event has more than doubled in size over the years. Nearly 370 runners took part in the first 3.1-mile race; last year some 830 runners did. It is now considered a regular stop for many local running clubs, including the Bellmore Striders and the Greater Long Island Running Club.

This year, the race, run on a gray Sunday morning, was as popular as ever. “It means all the world. It’s incredible,” said Merrick’s Craig Levine, who founded Forever 9: The Robbie Levine Foundation with his wife, Jill, after their 9-year-old son Robbie died of an undiagnosed heart condition during a baseball practice in 2005. “It’s so nice of everyone to come for Robbie, my son. It makes great memories.”

With proceeds from the race, the foundation has donated more than 140 automated external defibrillators to local schools and athletic organizations, and sponsored AED and CPR training classes to prevent future deaths from sudden cardiac arrest.

“It’s honestly a great cause,” said Forte. “There are so many kids out on the fields and out on the streets, and to have AEDs accessible or around is a great feature that needs to happen.”

As the event has grown in popularity, the foundation has been able to do more for AED awareness and education, including hosting an annual Dealing with Hearts Gala beginning in 2009.

“We have two events to raise money, this and a gala in the winter,” said Levine. “That’s what allows us to keep donating AEDs and training people that want to learn CPR, AED-use. That’s how we fund the whole thing.”

This year’s gala, the eighth so far, boasted 230 attendees. Over the years, the event has featured food, music, casino games, silent auctions and raffle prizes. This year, prizes included Disney park tickets and a hotel stay on Lake Tahoe, among others.

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