The New York Flyers in Partnership with Project Purple present the Laurie Harris Hope & Dreams 5k to raise awareness and funds for Pancreatic Cancer.

Laurie Harris was the epitome of the NYC running community. A long-time member of the New York Flyers running club in Manhattan, she was also a member of the NYRR and ran over 550 of their races in her beautiful life. Laurie ran about 200 other races, too, including 17 marathons. Her training ground was Central Park, where she ran the various loops and paths so many times, folks swear that they can discern her footprints in the asphalt. And she always ran with a big smile on her face, her beautiful curly blonde locks bobbing back behind her in the breeze she created. One did not have to know Laurie to know Laurie, that’s how often and visible she was to the local running community. In August 2011, Laurie was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Ever the fighter, she undertook treatment with great vigor, a desire to live…and to run. And run she did, running the 2011 NYC Marathon while undergoing treatment. She would have run again in 2012, but something called Sandy got in the way. However, she still ran many a race and countless more loops. Very weak, she still ran the 2013 NYRR Team Championships 5 miler, where she was run in to the finish line by friends to a hero’s welcome by the NYRR announcer. On August 10, 2013, her club, the Flyers, sponsored its first race to honor her…the Laurie Harris Hope and Dreams 5k. In the throes of her illness, Laurie willed herself out to Roosevelt Island where she was feted by over 550 runners from the NYC running community. Laurie passed away on November 15, 2013, surrounded by her loving family. Yet, she lives on in our hearts and souls, and on the paths of Central Park. This annual event will continue until her hopes and dreams of a cure come to fruition.

The New York Flyers have partnered with Project Purple in putting on this event in memory of Laurie Harris a long time NY Flyer and for all of those battling Pancreatic Cancer in the Greater New York City Area.

Proceeds of this event will go towards Project Purple’s mission of helping families battling and funding research for a cure or early test of Pancreatic Cancer.