Wild Rover Series

Who We Are: Healthy Kids Running Series is a five (5) week running program in the spring and fall for kids Pre-K through 8th grade. Each HKRS Series takes place once a week and offers age-appropriate running events including the 50 & 75 yard dashes, the 1/4 mile, the 1/2 mile and the 1 mile run. Kids will earn points for each race they complete based on their finish.

Pricing: The registration fee covers the entire five (5) weeks of the Series which includes race bibs for each week, a runner shirt, a finisher medal and any sponsor giveaways. Registration is non-refundable and non-transferable. Online Early Bird registration increases three weeks prior to the first race event.

Challenger: This Series offers a Challenger Division which is an adaptive 75 yard race for children with disabilities and/or special needs. This allows for parents, siblings, and friends to be on the course with runners to provide support as well as bringing their own supportive devices such as crutches, braces, wheelchairs, etc. to be used by runners.

Single Day Racing: Single day race registration opens one hour prior to the start of each race. The registration fee covers one single race to be run on the day of registration. ALL single day registrations should be completed onsite at the race location. Single day racers will have the option to upgrade to the full series (see tab on the left side of the page for instructions). There is a strict no-refund and no-transfer policy.

Awards: All participants receive a medal on Week 5! Trophies will be awarded to the overall top finishers in each of the divisions listed below (broken out by boys and girls respectively):

Pre-K 50 Yard Dash

Pre-K 75 Yard Dash

Kindergarten & 1st Grade

2nd & 3rd Grade

4th & 5th Grade

6th to 8th Grade

Challenger

Share your running photos with our community! Find us on Facebook @HealthyKidsRunning or Instagram @healthykidsrs!

#GetUpandGo

31st Annual

Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter

Run & Walk

for Food & Shelter

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Join us for this annual tradition by either running in our

USATF Certified 5K or 10K Race

or walking on our 3K course!

Course Maps can be found on the left side of this page.

Events take place whatever the weather!

Your donation helps fund the programs and services we provide for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, hunger, or economic hardship. NSKS has achieved a lot in our 45 years of serving the greater Nashua area. In addition to our twice daily meals, our food pantry, our Backpacks for Back to School program, and our Meals for Kids program (frozen meals for dinner at home, distributed through the schools), in December 2022 we opened our new emergency shelter at 35 Spring Street, which has more than doubled our capacity to provide shelter, with a particular impact on families with children.

We look forward to welcoming competitive and recreational runners and walkers to our annual fundraiser!

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Interested in becoming a partner on the event? We are currently seeking event sponsors at various levels. To learn more about these opportunities, contact Carol Weeks at carol@nsks.org

Our Sponsorship paperwork link can be found here under "Become a Partner".

This is a fundraiser for the programs and services at NSKS.

Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter | Food & Shelter To Those In Need (nsks.org)

The Winner's Circle Running Club is organizing a coach bus to the Boston Marathon start and return. The bus will pick up runners at the Winner's Circle Sports Bar in Salisbury MA on April 20, 2026 at 5:45 am. The bus arrives in Hopkinton where it will park and provide a comfortable prerace site for all the wave starts. After finishing the marathon the bus will be making its return back to the Winner's Circle at 6:00 pm. If you cannot finish the marathon by 5:15pm you will probably miss the bus and should consider other transportation options home.

Included in the package is a gorgeous hotel room waiting for you at Courtyard Boston Copley Sq at 88 Exeter St. Pack a finish line bag ahead of time with your change of clothes, shower supplies, and any other items you may need to help you relax and celebrate the finish! Some food and snacks will be provided. Details will be provided soon regarding bag drop off ahead of race day.

The cost for the trip is $100 for active WCRC members. Non-members and/or legacy community must activate an annual membership for an additional $25. Runners and spectators must be 18 years of age or older in order to ride the bus. Your application is reserved with payment in full - no refunds will be given, as we guarantee seats at the time of payment.

For 2026 all bus registration is online only - no mail in applications will be accepted. Please register here to take the bus.

This is Greater Lowell Road Runners bus transportation to the Boston Marathon on Monday April 20, 2026. You must be a member in good standing of the club, (if you are not a club member please email us at BostonBus@glrr.net and we can help you a membership -- please note: club membership is a requirement of the BAA, not us) and you must also be an official entrant of the 2025 BAA Boston Marathon.

The bus will leave Cawley Stadium in Lowell at 6:45am (subject to change) on race day. GLRR has a policy of waiting for all runners to be accounted for before we leave Boston to return home on race day. The bus typically leaves Boston by 7:00pm. You can decide to find alternate transportation home if you do not want to wait. If you are looking for a ride back only (getting your own way in), please email us - don't register yet.

If you are only interested in the amenities we provide at the hotel (hot shower, massage, food, drinks, beer) then you can help us out by paying for this -- select the “Hotel Only” option. You can select this option even if you are not a GLRR member.

We get 2-3 hotel rooms at the Park Plaza for our use for the day; we have volunteers who will be bringing your bag, plus food and beverages up to the rooms. We have showers, and massages for post race relaxation!

We also need a few volunteers to help us on race day: setting up the hotel rooms, assisting runners, etc. You can become a volunteer by registering on this link. For additional questions, please email gjotto@comcast.net

Emails will be going out in late March with important race day info.

The Theodore Star

Theodore has been honored in the sky with a special star named after him: The Theodore Star.

We lost our little boy / Vanessa’s little brother - Theodore - in 2021 about a month after he turned 2 years old. He was born without any kidneys, but nevertheless was born a medical miracle - and flourished quite marvelously for 2 years despite not having the typical blueprint that was compatible with life. While he did have some challenges given his medically complex situation, nevertheless -this little boy, like all children, filled our life with love and laughter. He was our little hero. During the last month of his life, he unfortunately became critically ill and his condition/situation wasn't understood nor able to be medically solved…

To fill this gaping hole in our heart and lives…we have sought lots of helpful outlets. One of which is why we decided to start this memorial race in his honor. He, and we, loved our stroller walks through our neighborhood, so it gives us great peace and happiness to be able to keep his memory alive with this meaningful race event. We have brought many in our community together as a result as well as to raise awareness and funds for Boston Children’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins, as well as the Children’s House (Believe in Tomorrow foundation). We would love to have you join as well!!!

Info about this Memorial Event

Theodore had just celebrated his second birthday one month before he had to go to heaven, so we have elected this to be an annual 2-mile race in honor of the beautiful time we had with him here on Earth.

The race will start in the Fuller Meadow Elementary School parking lot, continue into the Brigadoon neighborhood through the paved path, loop around the entire Brigadoon neighborhood, and then finish back through the connecting path back into the school parking lot. Runners, trotters, walkers, strollers, or even just spectators are all welcome!

The venue of our neighborhood is very special, as it’s full of so many beautiful family memories. We hope you can join us! Theodore (and all of the special stars of everyone's hearts) will surely be soaring with us through this course as we remember and celebrate together!