Thousands of people participate in annual running festival, race through Downtown Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Running Festival returned for the 22nd year on Saturday.

Thousands of people flocked to Charm City to participate in the festival and watch it—transforming the streets into a running rodeo. 

Thousands of runners took to the city's streets for a thousand different reasons. 

"We live in Pennsylvania. My husband's doing the 5k and my nephew and I are doing the 10k," one participant told WJZ.

"We're here for Lauren," first-time participant Kirsten Smith said.

"The Lauren-strong team," Marianne Otto-Smith, another first-time participant, said. 

Smith and Otto-Smith said that they were running for Lauren—their neighbor who is battling cancer.

"We are supporting Lauren in her fight against leukemia," Otto-Smith said. "It's really an honor to be able to be here and support her and also, this is actually my first time ever at a big race like this. So, it's very exciting."

They were among more than 12,000 runners from near and far participating in the 22nd annual Baltimore Running Festival on Saturday.  

"It brings everybody together—residents, the various agencies, the police and the DOT, and all the volunteers that come together and make this event great," Lee Corrigan, the race director and resident of CSE, said. "You know the economic impact is significant—$20 to $30 million here. And then, you know, money raised for charity." 

Participants had the opportunity to run in a variety of races including a marathon, a half-marathon, a 10k or a 5k. The race routes snaked around the heart of the city.

"You can start with a 5k, go to 10k, work up to the half, and you don't have to do it alone," Dr. Matt Sedgley, the MedStar Sports Medicine Director for the Baltimore Running Festival, said. "You can run with friends."  

After all, it is not about who finishes first, it's about the reason why someone should keep putting one foot in front of another. 

"Just relax, breathe, and enjoy yourself," Linda, a 2023 participant in the Baltimore Running Festival, said.

"I would say take a kind of mile at a time. I think people, you know, start and they're like, 'I could never run five miles or 10 miles,' but you know—get out there," Josh, a 2023 participant of the Baltimore Running Festival 10k, said. "You can take it slow and before you know it, you'll be doing a good lifelong habit of running."