Lighthouse 5K brings community together again

On a late Saturday Summer morning, while overlooking the Eastern shores of Cayuga Lake, 177 runners gathered at a starting line in Myers Park. The youngest runner was entering second grade; the oldest was 71 years old.

They gathered to participate in a Lansing tradition, the Lighthouse 5K, with proceeds going to the Lansing High School boys and girls cross country programs.

The race consisted of a fun run, which featured a 1-mile-long course, at 8:30 a.m. and a 5-kilometer run at 9 a.m.

Lansing varsity cross country runners on both teams worked as volunteers at the race. Race Director Christine Eisenhut said working as volunteers helps bind the members of both teams to the community.

“The varsity boys and girls teams benefit from it, so we feel like they should work it, so this is part of how they can give back to the community,” she said. “We see this as a community event. It’s great that it raises money for our team, but it just brings everyone together.”

The annual event started in 2009 as part of the Lansing Harbor Festival but later stopped being held when the Harbor Festival also stopped returning.

Eisenhut was a coach with the Lansing cross country program in 2016. When the race was part of Harbor Festival, the proceeds went to multiple organizations in Lansing, but when it was discontinued, Eisenhut saw an opportunity to raise money for the Lansing cross country program.

The amount raised was not known after the race, but Eisenhut said that the race usually generates roughly $4,000 of funding for the boys and girls cross country programs.

The funds have gone to safety and reflective gear, materials for strength and agility training, travel and tent materials for races in the past few years.

During the Lighthouse 5K’s first year back, Eisenhut said the group of organizers had hoped for roughly 100 runners. Instead, 170 people signed up to run the race.

“We were so overwhelmed with the response because it hadn’t been here for awhile and people really liked it,” she said. “It’s a flat, fast course with some beautiful views.”

The course starts in Myers Park between the gazebo and the main playground. After completing a loop on the main road in the park, runners continued past the attendant’s booth and railroad tracks and then turned left on Myers Road and started toward Salt Point.

After completing a clockwise turn around the Salt Point Preserve, runners went back to Myers Park and started their final push on the gravel campground road in the park. The finish line was just a few feet off Cayuga Lake.

Eisenhut said the race has grown since she started as race director in 2016, but she doesn’t think it needs to grow much further than it already has to serve the Lansing community.

“I think the spot we’re in today is a good spot to be in,” she said “I don’t ever want it to be 1,000 people. “

Eisenhut said the Lansing Town Parks and Recreation Department has been supportive of the race. The department provides storage and support, but she does not want the race to stretch resources of the department or the parks it serves.

She said having a race with roughly 300 people is a goal, and more than that might affect the small-town, community-based feel of the event.

The Lansing boys and girls soccer teams ran in the race Saturday. Eisenhut said in past years, the Bobcats football team also ran in the 1-mile fun run.

She said the support of other Lansing teams has paved the way for the event’s success.

“It’s festive; it’s fun,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful way to kick off the fall season. This is the second week of preseason for fall sports, so it’s a nice, fun way to get back in the swing of things. The coaches have great relationships with each other. It’s a small school — there’s about 100 kids in each grade — so the kids all know each other. It just makes it fun all the way around. They cheer each other on. It’s great”

Sunday, Eisenhut started planning for the 2023 Lighthouse 5K. It’s an event that included 21 sponsors this year and asks for many hours of work from volunteers who are part of the Lansing running community.

Putting together the race each year can be a large task, but Eisenhut said it’s worth it, and not just because the race raises money for the Lansing cross country program or even that it brings the community together. She said the race also supports the sport of running in the Finger Lakes.

Some runners finished the 5K course in under 20 minutes, while others took longer than 40. All were cheered as they crossed the finish line.

“We cheer for everybody,” she said “That’s the beauty of running. The first runner might win and it’s a terrible race for them, and for the last runner, it might be a PR [personal record]. It’s a team sport. You can cheer for each other and work with each other towards team goals, but every time you come out could be a PR.”

Eisenhut started the awards ceremony by giving out a water bottle to the top finisher in each age group, provided by Finger Lakes Running Company. She started with the under-10-year-old category and ended with the 70-and-over group.

To Eisenhut, the age range shows something she’s known for a long time.

“Everybody is welcome, from under 10 years old to 70 and over,” she said. “Running is a lifetime sport.”

Lansing at Large appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.