Buffalo’s Old First Ward welcomed the spring season with the sound of a starting gun, on Saturday.The 38th annual Shamrock Run brought more than 4500 runners to the streets. Old First Ward Community Association Director, Laura Kelly, says after the long winter forcing many runners to work out alone, they were excited to take part in this community event. She says that for most of the race’s history, it has been a banner day for the neighborhood.
“In the years when I started here when the ward was still kind of ‘undiscovered country’ this was the biggest day of the year, this and the parade. This was like the Black Friday for the local businesses. Now, of course, they’re busy year round as people discover the waterfront,” said Kelly.
Kelly says the event raises between 40 and 50-thousand dollars each year, which goes towards funding community services.
“So things like the senior lunch, the youth after-school. And it gives us a flexibility to keep staff stable when funding streams come and go, and to keep things like our senior lunch and our kids’ supper program funded and stable. The real bedrock of what we do as far as human services,” Kelly said.
The race is organized by an all-volunteer committee through the Old First Ward Community Center. This year’s race was in memory of Susan Conway, the late wife of race director emeritus, Bill Conway.
