The town of Boylston celebrates Memorial Day in style every year with events for the whole family. The common in Boylston is a beautiful location to enjoy the race and then spend time with your friends and family. There is no better location for Katie’s 5k!

SHIRTS WILL ONLY BE DISTRIBUTED TO THOSE WHO ARE PRE-REGISTERED!

TEAM Information

What's better then running alone? Running with friends! Be sure to create or join a team when you register this year. We will be awarding prizes to the Top 2 fastest teams (first 5 on a team to finish count toward the official the team time) as well as the team with the most number of participants!

WHY DO WE RUN?

Katie Chalifoux was born in October of 1984 to Janice and Robert Chalifoux. The youngest of five children, Katie spent her childhood in Boylston, surrounded by a closely-knit group of friends. At Tahanto Regional High School, Katie was not only a scholar, but she was also active in sports (soccer, basketball, and softball), music (clarinet and piano), and numerous extra-curricular activities (class officer, Model United Nations, and Student Council).

Katie’s full life came to an unexpected and tragic end in January of 2008, after she succumbed to complications following an accident in New York City. At the time of her death, Katie was working as a teacher at Wild Blue, an enrichment program for children on the upper east side of Manhattan. She loved life and was living out her dream of living in New York City. She was the epitome of “living life to the fullest”.

In 2008, the Boylston Memorial Day 5K race was renamed and reworked in Katie’s memory. Scholarships in Katie's name were setup for deserving female students from Tahanto Regional High School who were going on to a two or four year college degree program. The race also honors our veterans with donations to Veterans Inc. in Worcester.

In 2018, the Boylston Lions Club took stewardship of Katie's 5K and will work to continue the high quality race it has been in the past. The race now supports the Katie Chalifoux Scholarships, The Boylston Lions Club Scholarships, and donations to Veterans, Inc.