Brookline Together Takes on The Breeze - EDITED 6/7/21
Updated: Jun 7, 2021
By Katie O’Toole
Photography by Amy Fisher - Pawsburgh Photography
UPDATE - Due to unforeseen circumstances, Brookline Together will not be involved in the 2021 race. Required contractual documents have yet to be delivered to Brookline Together in order to proceed. As an organization, we are looking forward to contributing to this esteemed event in 2022.
City officials approved a decision this month to have The Brookline Breeze benefit and be organized by Brookline Together.
The City of Pittsburgh hosts the annual 5K as a community fundraiser, and Brookline Together is now the official non-profit tied to the event. Brookline Together is creating a Breeze subcommittee of Business and Community Engagement with two City representatives. Brookline Together will still host its annual Breezefest, which accompanies the 5K and involves local businesses with outdoor tables, food and activities. “Ultimately, the decision was an easy one”, says Brookline Together President, Caitlin McNulty. “These Brookline Breeze is a wonderful long-standing tradition, and we want to make sure that it says that way for many years to come. We are planning bring our own spin to the event so that the race becomes an integrated part of a daylong event that more fully involves the community, its residents, and its businesses in a positive way.”
Pittsburgh hosts five annual footraces including the Greenfield Glide, Historic Hill 5K, Regent Square Run Around the Square and the Riverview Park 5K. These Citiparks events benefit organizations that serve locals. In Brookline, these have included The Brookline Food Bank, Brookline Recreation Center and Brookline Teen Outreach. As Brookline Together has taken on more and more of a supporting role in the overall community since its founding in 2019, the race’s proceeds will still return to its community.
Hundreds of runners hit the streets of Brookline for the event each year, and it’s been a part of community tradition since the 1980s. Last year’s footraces were combined into a virtual event, but city officials are confident that the Brookline community will be able to return to the outdoors for Summer of 2021. The 40th Breeze is scheduled for August 14th.
Brookline Together will continue to plan the event and release more information about how to register and further details in the coming months.