Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who came out for our 4th annual Race for Equality on Saturday, April 26th and made it such a huge success! We could not have done it without our sponsors, donors, volunteers, community partners, and attendees!
Shoutout to our overall male and female winners: Drew Davis and Janelle Wiebelhaus-Finger!
The 2026 Race for a Reason 5K Walk/Run will be on April 25, 2026 at PFW. Registration will open at the end of December!
The Race for a Reason 5K Walk/Run raises funds for the work that YWCA Northeast Indiana does in Allen, Dekalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells, and Whitley counties. This work includes community engagement, domestic violence advocacy and awareness, addiction recovery awareness, education, and sexual violence advocacy and awareness.
2025 Highlights
One Mile Fun Run: We were excited to offer for the very first time a 1 mile walk/run option for participants!
Official Fort Wayne Running Club Points Series Event: Learn more here.
2nd Annual Pup Run: Pups could register to conquer the course with you! All pups that registered before the deadline received a special gift!
“Couch to 5K” Training Plan: All registrants were given access to a training plan (created by Lynn Marbach and endorsed by Three Rivers Running Company) to prepare for the event. The plan included educational and engaging aspects about equality.
Teams: Participants could create a team and join other teams for FREE. Standing up for equality is more fun and effective with friends!
Scenic Route: We enjoyed the beauty of Purdue Fort Wayne in the spring as we run/walk through their picturesque campus! The course was lined with local and national statistics surrounding equality.
Family-Friendly and Accessible: The whole family could come for a day of fitness and fun! The course is fully accessible for wheelchairs. Strollers were welcome at no additional cost.
Community Support: Every step supported a worthy cause, with proceeds from the event benefiting YWCA’s work towards equality. Building a more just community takes all of us, so YWCA offered community members the opportunity to run the race for equality, together.
Music & Activities: Energy was high with live music from DJ Julio Ex and our emcee, Julian Teekaram!
Community Partners: Local organizations joined us to share about their work in the community. Runners that visited the tables were entered into a drawing for raffle prizes!
Thank you to NIPSCO for being our 2025 Title Sponsor!
Thank you to our Champion and Advocate Sponsors:
If you are interested in sponsoring our 2026 event, please send us an email!