About 400 runners and walkers representing 24 companies will participate in the new Syracuse Workforce Run Tuesday evening. The event is replacing the annual Corporate Challenge that has been held on the Onondaga Lake Parkway for more than 30 years. However, it won’t be the same event you’re used to, at least for this year.
Organizers said the Syracuse Workforce Run will be scaled back because of the pandemic. The event has been postponed twice now, but they’re happy to at least have an event to bring companies together promoting good health.
Unlike years past, the run-walk will take place on the Onondaga Lake Park trail and not the Parkway. That means traffic won’t be blocked for the event.
The former JP Morgan Corporate Challenge was sold to the Barwick Group of New Jersey in 2019. Robert Barwick has served as the announcer for the event for more than two decades.
He said the main goal is to keep the event alive this year and bring it back as a full-fledged event next June.
“The trail is plenty wide. It’s an out-and-back course, which is exactly what the Parkway course is, it’s an out-and-back. And, the focus is, let’s get people back. It’s a tasting, it’s a sampling, of what’s going to come next year,” said Barwick, the race director.
Barwick said the Syracuse Workforce Run has been changed to a 5K run, which is 3.1 miles compared to 3.5 miles in the past.
He said that JP Morgan Chase is now a sponsor in the event after having ownership of it for more than three decades. The event had more than 6,000 participants in 2019. Registration was capped at 400 this year, but Barwick wants to get it back to normal on the Parkway next year.
The event will get underway at 6:00 p.m. tonight on the Onondaga Lake Trail behind the Griffin Visitor Center. Parking is available on-site for those participating. For more information about the Syracuse Workforce Run, visit SYRWFR.com.
