The Woodstock 5K, a local road race in Anniston, Alabama, is set to host the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA)’s National 5K Championship. The 44th annual Woodstock 5K will take place on August 2, 2025.
Hosted since 1981, the Woodstock 5K is held annually at Anniston High School along Woodstock Avenue. The race has been the host of 18 RRCA championship races, including seven national championships, five regional championships, and six state championships. The race is organized by the Anniston Runners Club, a local nonprofit organization, and all proceeds go towards benefiting the communities of northeast Alabama. Local schools and organizations (such as the Arc of Calhoun & Cleburne Counties, benefiting persons with disabilities).
The race recently announced the hiring of a new co-race director, Landon Delozier, and the acquisition of Publix as a major corporate sponsor and partner with the event. Publix will also be providing catering services, handing out food to runners after they finish the race. As of July 14, hundreds of runners from 13 different U.S. states and two other countries are coming to Anniston, Alabama, for the Woodstock 5K. Local runners make up most of the the race’s entries, but there are also many elite runners participating in the Woodstock 5K, some of whom are returning from last year, all of whom have the potential to break the course record.
Previous winners William Brown (2022) and Bradley Makuvire (2024) will be returning to run the Woodstock 5K again this year; Makuvire was five seconds short of breaking the course record when he won the race last year. Makuvire, who now resides in El Paso, Texas, was first recruited to run the race by elite coordinator Kile Putman of Cahaba Distance Project. Other male elite runners rounding out the field include Samuel Ongaki, David Too and Jay Day, among others. For the female field, Amanda Cuomo, Macie Pfeuffer and Elise Barron are all coming from the Birmingham area to run Woodstock.
The first-place winners (male and female) of the Woodstock 5K will receive a $500 reward; if the course record is broken in doing so, the reward is increased to $1000. Other cash prizes are also given for second and third place overall males and females, as well as master, grandmaster, and senior grandmaster winners. All overall award recipients also receive gift cards from TrakShak, a race sponsor who will be on-site. Patrick Cheptoek holds the male record with a time of 14:13, while Risper Gesabwa holds the female record with 16:06, both of which were set in 2012.
Several perks are given to those who sign up for the Woodstock 5K, including a race T-shirt (depending on stock availability), a medal, as well as the chance to win several door prizes, such as gift cards to local and national businesses. The Woodstock 5K also holds a Team Challenge, allowing friends, family, schools, and other organizations to compile their individual times and win awards. There is also the Kidstock 1K available to children from ages 1-11, occurring after the 5K finishes.
For more information on the race, visit the Anniston Runners Club website at http://www.annistonrunners.com/.