Track Teams in Bay Ridge and Running Clubs for Kids in Brooklyn
Updated April 2024
Running has become increasingly more popular. Here are some running teams/clubs in Brooklyn for children:
1) St. Pat’s CYO Running Program
Children run September through November. Practices will be held on weekday evenings and on weekends during the Fall.
CYO sponsored events are held at Ally Pond Park in Queens.
Open to: Boys & Girls In Grades: K to 9
2) Prospect Park Youth Running Club (PPYRC) 135 Windsor Place (near the corner of Windsor Place-Next to F Train Station) Brooklyn 11215 917-363-6671 See their Instagram here
This group is for runners 6-13 years old.
Registration is here. The cross-country schedule is here.
There are three seasons of Running: Fall Cross Country, Winter Indoor Track, Spring Outdoor Track (Spring season registration in March)
Boys and girls age 6-13 First year – $300 – includes uniform and insurance – see here (the following years it is less expensive – $200.00)
Sean Rice, Program Director – Contact info here
3) Girls on the Run has running groups at some schools, but registration is only open to those schools.
They used to be at St. Andrew’s and the girls ran at Owls Head Park, but this group no longer exists.
6) Fast Feet NYC meets at Fort Hamilton High School Track – $160 for the season. This is an adaptive running group for people with disabilities. Sign up here
4) Ocean Breeze has a track team in Staten Island – see here.
5) Resurrection Church has a Cross Country Team. It usually starts in the beginning of September – $50 includes a t-shirt and league registration
Girls and boys ages 5 to 14 can run on this team. High school freshmen can run, if they aren’t on their school team. This is part of the CYO parish team program. (there are 24 parishes from Brooklyn and Queens – St. Pats is one of those teams).
In the Fall, (September to November), they do cross country. They practice twice a week – Tuesday and Friday evenings at 6:00 pm. The practice is for 1 hour.
The first practice is at the beginning of September at the field at Gerristian Ave and Caton. Your child can go to that practice and try it out before you pay.
There are four Sundays where there are meets. The last weekend of September is usually when they have their first meet. Then there are three more meets in October (not Columbus Day Weekend). The CYO sponsored events are held at Ally Pond Park in Queens. Parents bring their child to the event, usually they car pool.
The cost the first year is: around $20 registration league fee plus around $30 for a high quality shirt – which they can use for several years. The second and subsequent years, you just pay $20 for the registration fee.
In the Spring, they have a Track Team! The track meets are in Astoria Park.
6) City Parks has a free Track and Field Program Sports@CityParksFoundation.org
7) Run4Fun – a youth running club. run4funyrc@gmail.com They used to run out of Owl’s Head Park, but then changed location. See more locations here. 917-627-2811
Here are some other open runs:
Marine Park: Sundays 8 a.m. – Meet behind the Carmine Carro Community Center on Fillmore Ave.
Brooklyn Bridge Park: Tuesdays 7 p.m. – Meet on the south side of Fornino on Pier 6.
Canarsie Park: Saturdays 9 a.m. – Meet at the park office on Seaview Avenue at E 88th St.
Some Schools have a running groups:
Some middle schools in the area have the Rising Road Runners Program – IS 30, Middle school kids at LES, IS 187
Running Events in which Kids Can Participate in Bay Ridge:
- Every September is the Chris Hoban Run – they also have the Chris Hoban Run Kids Dash follows the 5-mile run at Xaverian High School. All participants receive a t-shirt and a medal at the finish line
- In the Spring, Harbor Fitness has an autism run (we have seen this in April, May or June – different months each year) – pee wee race for kids 12 and under. Kids 12+ run with adults. This was the form for Registration
- Every June, there is the Dyker Heights Athletic Association Kids Marathon For many years this group has been sponsoring a kids marathon to raise money for different people/organizations. New article: here
