New York, September 30, 2018 – The New York Road Runners’ (NYRR) signature Five-Borough Series returned to the streets of the Bronx today with the 2018 New Balance Bronx 10 Mile. Leading the field of more than 12,000 runners were first place finishers Harbert Okuti of Uganda with a time of 48:36, and Beverly Ramos of Puerto Rico with a time of 55:15, a new event record.

Ramos, a two-time Olympian from Puerto Rico and Team New Balance Athlete, made her first showing in the Bronx this morning after Hurricane Maria prevented her from making it out of Puerto Rico last September. Despite last year’s devastation in Puerto Rico, Ramos persevered and trained at home for last year’s TCS New York City Marathon. Today’s race served as a tune-up for Ramos who plans to return to the 2018 edition of the marathon on November 4.

Okuti, the event’s 2017 champion, successfully defended his title today in the Bronx, and by doing so earned his ninth NYRR race title of 2018.

Today’s top finishers from the Bronx were Suleman Abrar Shifa, who finished sixth overall with a time of 49:53, and Belaynesh Fikadu, who finished as the second overall female with a time of 55:27.

In 2018, NYRR is celebrating 60 years of helping and inspiring people through running and today’s New Balance Bronx 10 Mile was a special nod to the organization’s growth from its origins as a 40-person running club in the Bronx’s Macombs Dam Park. Today NYRR is the world’s premier community running organization and serves nearly 600,000 people of all ages and abilities.

During its 60-year history NYRR has maintained close ties to its Bronx roots, staging fall cross country races in Van Cortlandt Park, and hosting free weekly runs in Bronx community parks through NYRR Open Run, in addition to the annual New Balance Bronx 10 Mile. The 10-mile race is an evolution of the Bronx Half Marathon which began in 1995.

Check out The Run On for a feature on NYRR’s storied history in the borough, penned by NYRR President of Events and Race Director of the TCS New York City Marathon Peter Ciaccia, a Bronx native. Ciaccia, who plans to retire this November was greeted with applause from the start this morning and recognized for his commitment to elevating the Bronx’s running community.

The finishers of today’s New Balance Bronx 10 Mile started on the Grand Concourse at 165th Street and finished on East 161st Street in front of Yankee Stadium.

While the Yankees were away this weekend facing the Boston Red Sox, five Yankee WAGs (wives and girlfriends), including Amber Sabathia were among today’s finishers. The group of WAGs were part of a larger team that raced to raise funds for the PitCCh In Foundation. The foundation, which was founded by Amber and CC Sabathia, aims to enrich the lives of inner-city youth. Among today’s group of PitCCh In Foundation runners was CC’s mother Margie.

Other notable finishers of today’s race included TV personality Nev Schulman (1:02:33), retired New York Giants running back Tiki Barber (1:20:53), NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver (1:31:40), and Miss New York USA Genesis Suero (1:42:49), all of whom are in training for this year’s TCS New York City Marathon.

While the runners in today’s event took to the streets, hundreds of kids took to the track at Macombs Dam Park for a series of fun and free running events. The Rising New York Road Runners at the New Balance Bronx 10 Mile event welcomed kids ages two to 18 for a series of activities including obstacle courses, dashes, Zumba®, and much more.

The race weekend festivities kicked off on Friday with a 1 for You 1 for Youth shoe giveaway to more than 50 Rising New York Road Runners at PS 360X in the Jerome Park neighborhood of the Bronx. During the visit to PS 360X, Ramos helped to announce NYRR’s plans to expand its free youth fitness program to the children of Puerto Rico. Moving forward Ramos will serve as Rising New York Road Runner’s Ambassador & Special Advisor to Puerto Rico, helping to thoughtfully introduce the program to the island. More info is available here.

In addition to Rising New York Road Runners, NYRR organizes and supports a number of events and community programming in the Bronx throughout the year for people of all ages—from youth to seniors—designed to get them moving toward a healthier lifestyle. This includes free NYRR Open Runs in Crotona, Pelham Bay, Soundview and St. Mary’s Parks, and free NYRR Striders walking sessions for seniors in parks and neighborhood facilities.

Photos from today’s race are available on NYRR’s online media center. To access the photos, you will first need to create a login. Once you’ve registered, select the “Photo Libraries” tab on the right. Please have photo credit read: Courtesy of NYRR. For any specific requests or media inquiries, please email media@nyrr.org.

For more information about the New Balance Bronx 10 Mile, please visit the event page.