Robbie’s Run attracts 1,700-plus runners

More than 1,700 runners and walkers took to the streets of south Merrick on May 22 for the sixth annual Robbie’s Run, which has quickly become one of the Merrick-Bellmore community’s go-to events. In total, the event raised $48,000.

The 5K race/walk kicked off at Levy-Lakeside Elementary School in Merrick and wound through local streets. The event is organized each year by the Robbie Levine Foundation, a nonprofit organization started six years ago by Jill and Craig Levine in memory of their son, Robbie, who died suddenly on Sept. 27, 2005, when his heart stopped while he was running the bases during a Little League team practice.

“Robbie’s Run is a labor of love for us and a huge undertaking,” said Jill Levine. “The amount of support we continue to get from members of the community is what makes this event so successful and helps it continue to grow.”

Robbie’s Run celebrates the life of Robbie Levine and serves to raise money to purchase automated external defibrillators for youth athletic fields, as well as to fund cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes.

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