Get your July 4th holiday moving with the Rotary Club of Westerville’s Independence Day 5K at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, July 4. As it has since 2021, the 5K will take place at the Westerville Sports Complex, 325 N. Cleveland Ave.

The race and all our Rotary Club of Westerville Independence Day events for 2024 will take place on the actual date of the holiday – Thursday, July 4.

Registration is open!

Registration for 2024 is now open, at RacePenguin.com.

The route travels on paved multipurpose trails through the Sports Complex property, under Cleveland Avenue, along the Westerville Community Center property, down to Heritage Park, and back to the finish/start line at the Sports Complex, adjacent to the new Veterans Memorial Plaza.

Participants in the 5K receive an event T-shirt, race medal and other goodies. Kids Fun Run participants receive a medal. The event is pre-registration only. Packet pickup will be from noon-6 p.m. the Saturday and Sunday before the race, June 29 and June 30, at the Polaris Fleet Feet store, 1270 E. Powell Rd.

Veteran group beneficiary: Veterans First Initiative

• As announced in 2023, local veterans groups will be beneficiaries of the Rotary July 4th 5K each year. This dedication of proceeds to local veterans from our July 4th race replaces the Rotary Club of Westerville’s discontinued November event, the fall Rotary Honors Veterans 5K. We will dedicate proceeds from the 2024 Race to the Veterans First Initiative.
• A pre-race ceremony featuring the Westerville Honor Guard with members from the Westerville VFW Post and American Legion Post will begin the event, at 7:30 a.m. The ceremony will take place at the beautiful new Westerville Veterans Memorial Plaza at the Westerville Sports Complex, 325 N. Cleveland Ave. Local singer Andy Love will then perform the National Anthem.
  The 5K Walk/Run start and finish line will be adjacent to the plaza.
• Our annual Kids Fun Run sprints for young children moves this year to BEFORE the 5K, taking place at 7:45 a.m.
• The 5K itself will begin at 8 a.m., as usual.

2024 event schedule

7:30 a.m.     Pre-race ceremony featuring the Westerville Honor Guard

7:45 a.m.     Kids Fun Run for young children (50-yard and 100-yard dashes)

8 a.m.           5K Run-Walk start

PLATINUM sponsors

• Buckeye Media Services

• Payne & Brown Insurance/Auto-Owners Insurance

• Roush Hardware

• The Dave Read Family

• United Midwest Saving Bank

• Worthington Industries

GOLD sponsors

• Caxton Printing

• Gerber Collision & Glass

• Lakeshore Cryotonics

• Meyer Media

• Nothing Bundt Cakes

• RKE Trucking Company/DELCO Diesel

SILVER sponsors

• Chick-fil-A

• Cheryl's Cookies

• Di Carlo's Pizza

• Esporta Fitness

• Giant Eagle

• Hill Funeral Home

• Kroger

• Moreland Funeral Home

• Nationwide Children's Hospital

• Nichols & Company CPAs

• Orthopedic One

• The Exercise Coach

• Westerville Area Resource Ministry (WARM)