I must begin this announcement with a heartfelt “thank you.” Without your continued participation throughout these 10 years, the Jackie Bristow Memorial 5K could never have succeeded. Your participation has brought joy to us all and attention to a subject of profound importance: eating disorders are an all too prevalent reality in many of our families. Knowing about them, recognizing them, and getting treatment has always been our goal.

So, it is with great regret and humility that I announce that the Jackie Bristow Memorial 5K has finished with the running of last year’s race.

We have had a great 10 years of success. In the beginning we prided ourselves in presenting the “first race of the year.” As the years passed, 5K runs became more and more popular; whereas we were one of the only races in the month of January, today there are many 5K choices for runners to experience. We believe our run was one of the most fun for runners and non-runners. Each year we had several people tell us that the Jackie run was the most fun they’ve had at a 5K event.

Running an event, however, is a lot of work and we feel that as a family dedicated to educating the public about eating disorder, we can be more effective in other ways. We will continue our foundation and keep the website as an educational resource. Joan and I will continue to provide presentations to groups who need to know about the dangers of eating disorders and the pain of loss.

All of us who were the core of the Jackie Bristow Memorial 5K want to thank our supporters (Purchase Green, KBKG, Valenta, and others), our vendors, and our wonderful volunteers. But most of all, we want to thank you, our participants, our runners. You should all be proud of the good you have done.

Of course, the success of this 10 year celebration has been a great dedication to the memory of Jackie. I know that Jackie would have loved every year of this event!

Thank you again for your support. May God bless you and keep you until the end of your days.