Warwick Lions Club Labor Day 5K & 5 Mile: Community, Hills, and Fast September Legs

Warwick turned Labor Day into a festival of footspeed as the Lions Club’s 33rd Annual 5K & 5 Mile welcomed runners, walkers, families, and plenty of orange-and-blue singlets to Warwick Middle School. The morning had that just-right early-fall feel—cool enough to chase a PR, warm enough to celebrate afterward—and the rolling country roads delivered their usual blend of rhythm and grit. Both races started and finished together on the school grounds, feeding a shared energy that carried athletes through the last stretch and into the chute. Orange Runners Clubfindarace.com (UK)

Course & vibe

If you’ve never run it, the course is classic Warwick: quiet country lanes, gentle rollers, and long-ish straights where good pacing pays off. Runners love the ebb and flow—settle in early, crest the little risers with patience, then let gravity and cadence do the work on the back sides. With both distances sharing the start/finish, the finish corral is always buzzing; 5K and 5-Milers are often pouring in within minutes of each other, which means lots of cheers, bells, and high-fives. The Lions add all the little touches—music, water stops, and a family-friendly finish—that make this feel like a small-town race with big-race organization. racemappr.comfindarace.com (UK)

Results snapshot

Full searchable results (overall, age group, and team) are posted on RunSignup—worth a browse to see how your last mile stacked up. Whether you ran the 5K, the 5 Mile, or the 5K Walk, you’ll find your chip time, pace, and division place in the official listings. Today produced a healthy mix of veteran road warriors and first-timers, with tight battles at the front and plenty of proud sprints across the line deeper in the pack. (Pro tip: check the Awards tab and age-group breakdowns—this is a race where a smart day can land you on the podium.) RunSignup

Warwick XC shows up

Local pride was loudest around the Warwick Valley cross-country crew. Holiday Monday or not, those purple-and-white kits treated the race like a tempo-plus workout: even splits, disciplined surges over the rollers, and a string of strong kicks in the last 400 meters. For the younger athletes, it’s a perfect preseason checkpoint—hard effort without the stress of a championship meet—and a chance to practice pack running in a real race environment. The home-course familiarity (and the roar from classmates and coaches along the finish straight) clearly helped. Expect to see those efforts pay dividends when invitational season heats up.

Orange Runners Club—and Grand Prix points

The Orange Runners Club (ORC) faithful made this a banner turnout, using the holiday fixture for Grand Prix points and some friendly inter-club rivalries. The ORC calendar has long circled Labor Day in Warwick, and the pack-running we saw today—teammates trading pulls, calling out splits, and sweeping age-group placements—was textbook club racing. If you’re chasing GP standings or just want a great community to train with, ORC’s schedule keeps you racing through the fall (and yes, today’s 5K/5M counted). Orange Runners Club+1

5K: fast turnover, fast times

The 5K rewarded leg speed and patience. The early downhill-ish feel lured a few over-eager first miles, but the leaders who negative-split or kept the middle mile controlled were the ones celebrating at the tape. The last kilometer—where the course flattens and you can see the finish flow—became a parade of strong finishing form: eyes up, hands low, quick feet. We also saw big breakthroughs from first-timers and “back-to-running” athletes who used this as their comeback marker. Nothing beats nailing a seasonal PR on a hometown course.

5 Mile: grown-up strength

The 5 Mile has a different flavor—same scenery, but those extra two miles force you to respect pace. Today’s front-pack played chess: keep the cadence comfortable through the first 5K, then squeeze the pace between miles 3 and 4 before letting it rip. You could spot the seasoned racers by their posture in the final mile—tall through the hips, relaxed shoulders, and controlled, snappy stride. It’s no surprise many 10K and half-marathon types love using this distance as a stepping stone into fall races.

Deep age-group battles

Age-group racing was spicy. Masters runners (40+) especially came to play; in both races, we saw decisive moves in the last half-mile and plenty of photo-finish moments that will be fun to rewatch in the gallery. Grandmasters and Seniors delivered, too—if you’re looking for inspiration, scroll the 60–69 and 70+ divisions. The cheers for those final-stretch kicks were some of the loudest all morning. (Cash awards for overall and medals three-deep by age group add a little extra motivation.) racemappr.com

Walkers & families

The 5K Walk and the Kids Fun Run kept the morning inclusive. We met families who’ve made this their annual Labor Day tradition—parents in the 5 Mile, teens in the 5K, and younger siblings cruising the fun-run loop with medals big as dinner plates. Community races like this work because they meet people where they are: compete hard, jog easy, or stroll with friends—you’re part of the same finish-line story. RunSignup

Why this course works (and how to race it next year)

• Preview the rollers. They’re friendly—but only if you stay smooth and resist the urge to surge every crest.

• Use the shared finish energy. With two races funneling home, the last 400 meters practically pulls you in.

• Pacers > heroes. Treat mile 1 like a handshake, mile 2–3 (or 2–4) like a conversation, and the last mile like the exclamation point.

• Club tactics matter. If you’re on a team, set up leap-frog pulls and commit to a hard penultimate mile.

• Bring the crew. It’s spectator-friendly, with easy cheering spots near the start/finish and along the school perimeter. findarace.com (UK)

Shout-outs & thanks

Kudos to the Warwick Lions Club and the volunteer army that makes race day hum—from bib pickup to results and awards. Timing and operations were crisp, and the finish-line hospitality (water, snacks, smiles) hit the spot. Orange Runners Club, thanks for bringing the numbers and the noise. Warwick XC, keep that pack tight; the season’s young and the fitness is real.

Results & photos

Dive into the official results (overall, age group, and teams) here, and keep an eye out for the photo gallery linked from the race site—there are already some great finish-line frames and group shots rolling in. If you snagged a medal or PR, tag your teammates and celebrate those last-mile gains. See you on the roads for the next Grand Prix stop. RunSignup+1

Happy Running.