Damon Runyon News

May 17, 2019


(Bronx, NY)  More than 2,150 people from across the country and abroad took part in the 11th Annual Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, May 11, 2019, raising nearly $400,000 to support breakthrough cancer research by today’s best young scientists, funded by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Since the inaugural event in 2009, the annual Runyon 5K has raised more than $5.5 million.


“Each year, the Runyon 5K draws people from all five boroughs and the entire tri-state area, and beyond. From cancer survivors and their friends and family members to baseball fans and runners, all participants come with a common goal: to support groundbreaking cancer research that will save lives,” said Yung S. Lie, PhD, President and CEO of Damon Runyon.


The Runyon 5K route wound through the ballpark’s concourses and ramps, up the stairs between levels, and around the warning track that circles the field. Runners and walkers of all ages, and from as far away as Australia, traversed the course along with scientists funded by Damon Runyon.


You can find photos from the event here (photo credit: James Petrozzello) and B-roll footage of the event here.


The 2019 Runyon 5K was presented by MetLife Foundation, with additional support from GCT USA, Krasdale, Poland Spring, Lifeway Foods, Inc., Utz, Cabot, 24-Hour Fitness, New York Post, SiriusXM and the New York Yankees.


The Runyon 5K marks the latest chapter in the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation’s long history with the Yankees. After the Foundation’s establishment in 1946, Joe DiMaggio was on its Board of Directors and Mickey Mantle was an active fundraiser. Damon Runyon, who died from throat cancer in 1946, was a New York writer who began his career as a baseball journalist.  He revolutionized how the game was covered and often reported on Yankees games.