Bar set high for 9th Reebok/Canton Road Race

It’s fun yet competitive, corporate backed yet community oriented.

It’s the Reebok/Canton Road Race, and it’s back by popular demand on Saturday, October 5, at Reebok International with a variety of race options for participants of all ages and ability levels.

Now in its ninth year, the Reebok/Canton race has become one of the more successful running events in the region, attracting hundreds of participants and dozens of corporate sponsors each year. It is the primary fundraiser for the Canton Association of Business and Industry (CABI) and has raised more than $450,000 to date for various Canton organizations, including the Fire and Police departments, Massachusetts Hospital School, Canton Food Pantry, and the Canton Public Schools.

“It really is a great family event,” said Howard Goldman, CEO of Canton-based Humboldt Storage and Moving and one of the race’s original planners. “You’ve got kids running, you’ve got parents running, you’ve got families, teens, wheelchair participants. You have a [10k challenge] for fitness clubs and a [5k] corporate challenge.”

This year’s event will once again feature three distances: a 5k and 10k, which both start and finish at Reebok headquarters, and a one-mile kids’ race on the Reebok track. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in each age group for both men and women, and the first 500 to register will receive a free shirt — either a long sleeve tech shirt (first 100) or a short sleeve t-shirt.

Goldman said the event promises “something for everyone,” including post-race food and beverages courtesy of local vendors, a DJ, and discounts for runners at the Reebok corporate store. There will also be a silent auction with a chance to bid on several prizes, including two tickets to the New England Patriots in the Reebok luxury suite.

Goldman said CABI is hoping to build on the success of last year’s road race, which drew more than 700 runners and netted over $30,000 for local charities.

“We’re hoping to get almost 1,000 runners this year,” he said. “We’re certainly looking to continue to grow it.”

Although he no longer serves as the primary race organizer — that responsibility now falls on fellow CABI board member Steve Cesso in conjunction with local event planner Fattman Productions — Goldman said he is still very passionate about the race and its overall mission, which has gone unchanged since the event debuted in downtown Canton in the fall of 2005.

“The bottom line,” he said, “is that we have been able to merge business and community together, helping businesses get the word out, and after everything is said and done, to give some money back to different nonprofits in the town of Canton.”

Goldman said the road race, in many ways, epitomizes the commitment that CABI has shown to the Canton community over the years. He also praised lead sponsor Reebok and characterized the move from Canton High School to Reebok headquarters in 2011 as a “no brainer,” with its ample parking facilities and ability to handle future growth.

“The road race community has really started to embrace us, and a lot of people come back to run it every year,” he said. “At the same time, we still want to keep this primarily a community event. We want to preserve the idea of a community/business partnership.”

An avid runner himself, Goldman has finished the 5k in every year but 2011 — the year that his daughter Ashley, of “Dancing with the Stars” fame, made it to the World Ballroom Dance Championships in Prague. But he returned for last year’s event and plans to compete again this year in the corporate challenge along with other runners from the Humboldt team.

“I’m hoping that someday we’ll be celebrating our 20^th or our 25^th anniversary,” said Goldman of the race he helped start. “It definitely has potential. It’s built to last.”

To register for the Reebok/Canton Road Race or for more information, including sponsorship and volunteer opportunities, go to www.cantonroadrace.org.

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