2026 StacheStrong 5K: Honoring Loved Ones, Funding Hope & Fighting Brain Cancer

2026 StacheStrong 5K • Vestal, New York

The Meaning Behind the Mustache

StacheStrong began with something deliberately simple. Before GJ Gerner underwent brain surgery in September 2017, he shaved his face down to a mustache. His younger brother Colin had one too. In a week filled with scans, surgery and uncertainty, the mustache helped keep a little of GJ's personality and humor in the room.

That small gesture became a family symbol. StacheStrong formally launched in 2018, after GJ was diagnosed with glioblastoma at age 28. GJ died on September 17, 2019, after a 25-month battle with the disease. The organization that carries his name and spirit has continued to use the mustache as a visible shorthand for strength, togetherness and the refusal to accept that today's outcomes are good enough.

Read StacheStrong's full origin story →

Why Running Is Woven Into the Story

Vestal High School is not simply a convenient host site. StacheStrong describes GJ as a standout Golden Bears cross-country and track athlete, and running remained part of the family's story after his diagnosis. That makes the hometown 5K feel unusually connected to the person it honors: participants are not just gathering for a cause; they are returning to a place and an activity that mattered to GJ himself.

The connection reaches beyond this one race. Colin Gerner has used major marathons as fundraising platforms for StacheStrong. In the organization's telling of its early marathon story, GJ joined Colin for the final six miles of one of those efforts while undergoing treatment. The symbolism is hard to miss: running became a way for family and friends to keep moving together through something they could not control—and later, a way to raise money for research they hoped could change the future for other families.

Read StacheStrong's story about running and its marathon fundraising →

A 5K Where the Clock Isn't the Whole Story

There is real racing at StacheStrong. People arrive ready to chase a personal best, test themselves against familiar competitors or see how a season of training is coming together. The official results matter, and the event has built a history of returning runners whose performances can be followed from year to year.

But competitive running is only one layer of the afternoon. The same course also holds walking groups, families, younger runners, fundraising teams and people who may care very little about what the finish clock says. That mix is part of what makes a run/walk fundraiser powerful: everyone can participate at the level that fits their body, their relationship to the cause and the kind of day they need.

There Is Room for Joy, Too

An event built around brain cancer can carry grief without being consumed by it. The photographs also show laughter, team poses, costumes, children, thumbs-up signs and the slightly ridiculous fun that has always been part of the StacheStrong identity. That balance matters. Remembering someone can be serious and joyful at the same time.

What the Miles Help Fund

StacheStrong's mission is not only awareness. The organization raises money for brain cancer research and reports that it has funded more than $7 million in research across more than 40 institutions. In March 2026, StacheStrong and the V Foundation announced a $1 million, five-year grant at Massachusetts General Hospital focused on glioblastoma research—the largest single research commitment in StacheStrong's history.

That matters because fundraising language can sometimes feel abstract. At StacheStrong, donations are translated into grant support for scientists studying how glioblastoma behaves, adapts and might be more effectively targeted. StacheStrong says grant opportunities are evaluated with scientific review and, in some cases, co-funded with research partners. A local 5K contribution therefore becomes one small piece of a much larger research pipeline.

Explore research funded by StacheStrong →
Read about the 2026 $1 million V Foundation / Mass General grant →

Watch the 2026 StacheStrong 5K

The video brings the still photographs to life: the crowd gathering, the start, the effort on the course and the atmosphere around Vestal High School.

2026 StacheStrong 5K at a Glance

2026 StacheStrong 5K Results

Official timing and source data: Falcon Race Timing.

Confluence Running is preserving the complete 2026 overall and age-group results as part of the race archive, with Falcon Race Timing credited as the official timer. That gives runners one place to revisit the story, photographs and performances from the day rather than separating the human side of the event from the clock.

Returning Runners: A Race That Builds History

One of the best signs that an event has become part of a community is seeing the same names return. Historical StacheStrong results show runners coming back across multiple editions—sometimes getting faster, sometimes moving higher in the field and sometimes simply continuing a tradition.

The comparisons below are useful snapshots, not a verdict on fitness. Weather, course conditions, pacing, injury status, competition and whether someone chose to race hard or run alongside family can all change a 5K time.

Historical result sources: 2019 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025

The Stories Behind the Miles

A results page can tell you that someone finished a 5K. It cannot tell you what it took for that person to reach the starting line.

After the 2025 event, one participant wrote publicly about losing her older brother Chris to glioblastoma. She became involved with StacheStrong, worked through several weeks of Couch to 5K training and decided to run the race rather than walk it. Her finish represented something the overall standings could never capture: a deliberate act of remembrance, effort and connection to her brother.

Read the public 2025 runner story →

Another long-running connection belongs to Alex Zwierzynski and Rachel Fish-Zwierzynski. Le Moyne College reported that the couple has participated in multiple StacheStrong 5Ks, and Alex has also carried the cause into major-marathon fundraising in memory of Rachel's father, Ed Fish. His name appearing in the local 5K results is therefore only one part of a much larger story about how an annual hometown event can become a thread running through years of a family's life.

Read Le Moyne College's profile of Alex Zwierzynski →

Teams, Donors and the Power of Doing This Together

Peer-to-peer fundraising changes the feel of a charity race. Instead of one organization making one appeal, dozens of people become storytellers. Teams form around friends, family members, workplaces and people affected by brain cancer. Each page can reach a different circle of donors, and each circle becomes part of the event even if those supporters never stand on the starting line.

For the 2025 event, Kennedy Valve reported 70 teams, more than 1,300 supporters and $233,000 raised, with 16 Kennedy Valve employees participating. StacheStrong's own year-end update later summarized the 2025 5K as raising more than $230,000 with 1,500+ supporters. Those summaries use slightly different post-event measures, so we preserve each figure with its original attribution rather than pretending they are identical.

Kennedy Valve's 2025 StacheStrong recap →
StacheStrong's 2025 year-end update →

Companies and Community Support

Company involvement can mean event sponsorship, an employee team, matching gifts, direct donations or simply encouraging staff to take part. Those roles are worth distinguishing because each supports the event differently. Kennedy Valve, for example, both sponsored the 2025 race and reported employee participation. As verified 2026 sponsor and company information is finalized, it can be documented here without conflating sponsorship dollars with team fundraising or matching gifts.

Confluence Running also had employees competing in the 2026 race itself. Eric DeHart finished 2nd overall, while Jenna Gawors placed 2nd in the women's 40–49 age group. Their participation is a small example of how a local running business can be part of a community event not only as a supporter and storyteller, but as runners sharing the course.

2026 StacheStrong 5K Photo Gallery

The photographs threaded through this story are only a small selection. The full 2026 StacheStrong 5K race photo gallery is below, with the runners, walkers, teams, families, volunteers, start-line moments and course images that together show what the afternoon felt like.

Confluence Running photographs community races as part of our continuing archive of running across the Southern Tier and Upstate New York. When a bib is clearly readable and can be verified against the official timing results, runner names may be matched to captions and metadata. We do not guess when an identity is uncertain.

Gallery note: Robin PRO images may load progressively to keep the page responsive. Falcon Race Timing is the official timing source; photography and gallery hosting are part of the Confluence Running race archive.

You can also look back at our 2022 StacheStrong 5K race-photo archive.

2026 StacheStrong 5K FAQ

Sources & Further Reading

• StacheStrong — Our Story
• StacheStrong — 2026 5K Run/Walk
• StacheStrong — Research Funded
• StacheStrong — Running and Marathon Fundraising
• StacheStrong / V Foundation — $1 Million Five-Year Glioblastoma Research Grant
• Falcon Race Timing — 2026 StacheStrong 5K
• Kennedy Valve — 2025 event participation
• Le Moyne College — Alex Zwierzynski profile

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