As Guilford County comes out of pandemic mode, residents of the county are happy to see all the old annual events coming back to life again – and that’s certainly true for the PTI 5/K/10/K Run on the Runway. 

The charity run, which was transformed into a run-less charity event last year due to the pandemic, always raises a lot of money for a good cause.

The run is held at Piedmont Triad International Airport – which, of course, is the “PTI” in the event’s name.  The first one was held in 2010, and the current version includes a 5K run, a 10K run, a mile run/walk, a kids’ dash and a “5K untimed Walk to Win Against Hunger.” 

All proceeds will go to fight hunger locally.

The airport officials and others behind PTI 5K/10K Run on the Runway announced in a press release this week that the Lenny Peters Foundation and Bethany Medical will be the lead sponsor for the 2021 event, which will be held on Saturday, Sept. 18.

As the presenting sponsor, the foundation is providing a $15,000 cash donation – which is a nice amount for getting the fundraising ball rolling.

The Run on the Runway is an annual charitable event that’s hosted by the seven-member Piedmont Triad Airport Authority to support local food pantries. In recent years, the event has raised over $100,000 annually, with that money going to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, Greensboro Urban Ministry and Open Door Ministries of High Point.

Paul Mengert, who was just reelected by the Airport Authority to be the board’s chairman for another year, said the event is needed now more than ever.

“Food insecurity has always been a challenge for this community,” Mengert said. “The Covid-19 pandemic has made the need urgent.  We are grateful to the Lenny Peters Foundation and Bethany Medical for taking a leadership role in addressing this need.”

The Lenny Peters Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization founded by Dr. Lenny Peters – who also founded and operates Bethany Medical. Many local residents are very familiar with Peters, who’s won multiple awards for his support of charitable organizations.

According to the press release on the 2021 run, the foundation “focuses on needs of individuals in the Piedmont Triad and around the world, particularly those who find themselves experiencing temporary financial hardships and need help getting back on track.”

In addition to the events for individual runners, teams of runners can sign up for the “Team Challenge” at www.ptirun.com.  Awards will be given for the team with the most members and the team with the fastest time among its top five runners.

Run on the Runway participants are encouraged to arrive early to catch a shuttle from the parking area to the runway. This year, participants should arrive at the airport no later than 8:30 a.m. to get to the runway in time for the 9 a.m. start of the 10K run.

The participants are also encouraged to bring two non-perishable food items to the event.

Event organizers are reaching out to additional sponsors right now. Sponsorship details may be found online at www.ptirun.com.

For more information regarding sponsorships or registering to run or walk, people can call the very affable Stephanie Freeman at 336-665-5644.

Dr. Peters has recently written a book called, “Barefoot to Benefactor,” which can be pre-ordered on Amazon or at https://lennypetersfoundation.org/barefoot-to-benefactor/. All proceeds from the book go directly to the Lenny Peters Foundation, benefiting orphan children and cancer patients.

 

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