Buckley's - Kennedy's Race Winds Through Breezy Point

The small beach community of Breezy Point hosted the 35th annual Buckley’s to Kennedy’s race on Sunday May 17.

The 5K race, with nearly 1,000 runners ranging in age from 6 to 79, has traditionally set the scene for the unofficial kickoff to summer for most Breezy residents.

For a majority of the race, the weather conditions were hot and humid, not the ideal scenario for most runners. However, as the runners began to cross the finish line near the Breezy Point Ball Field, the humidity lifted, and the day turned out to be perfect for some fun in the sun for the Family Fun Day Picnic that followed.

Jonathan Rohl won the race with an impressive time of 17:27.

Keith Goldberg, a longtime Rockaway resident and a participant in over 20 previous races, said, “The Buckley’s to Kennedy’s run is the premiere community run, getting even the casual runner out and that is what makes it such a great day.”

Since the inaugural race in 1980, Jim Buckley, the race organizer, and the rest of the Breezy-Rockaway community have seen only one race canceled due to weather.

In the last few years, the race has been named in someone’s honor. This year’s race was named in honor of Tom Carroll, the recently deceased father of dear friends of the Buckley family.

Two of Carroll’s grandchildren participated in the race. Carroll’s grandson, Aidan Donohue, a freshman at Xavier H.S., Manhattan, finished near the top of his age group.

While the Buckley’s to Kennedy’s run is not known for its record breaking times or premier runners, it is known as a great day for a coming together of the community. All race proceeds went to Heartshare, an organization dedicated to aiding those in need of special support and services in the broader New York community.

Over the years – and this year was no exception – the race has become a wonderful way to kickoff the summer, raise funds for a good cause, be with fellow community members in a causal setting and honor the memories of prominent members of the peninsula.

Below are more photos from the race: