Running has always brought so much joy to our (Richard & Jodi Brodsky) lives, that is what has kept me alive since my terminal brain cancer in 2002. Five years earlier I was diagnosed HIV+. My marathon-running-loving wife Jodi and I are married for 46 years and have 3 daughters and 4 grandkids. We truly are blessed. Pictured above is Jodi & me at a Bohemia Track Club meeting talking about our 19th annual 5K AIDS Cancer Run Walk. Jodi has run 113 marathons; I have run 94. Jodi will be running the Long Island half marathon; I will be running the full marathon on May 3rd. What are the odds a 73 year old grandpa, closer to 74, can finish in the top 3 for his age group!

Photo credit: Dana DeRudder, Bohemia Track Club President

Greetings! April 27, 2026

WELCOME to the 19th annual 5K AIDS Cancer Run Walk, May 31, 2026, Baldwin Park, 9 am start (NOT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND). No charge for people living with HIV, cancer or Veterans (my dad was awarded the Purple Heart). Elitefeats will be timing the race and the event is LIVE or VIRTUAL from all 50 states + Canada and t-shirts will be mailed to virtual participants only.

REGISTER HERE!!

• Everyone will receive a dryfit Event t-shirt
• Starbucks coffee, fresh fruit platter, wraps, pitas, pizza, gelato, heroes, gourmet pastas. Muffins, pastries, bagels, doughnuts and snacks donated by Glen Wolther of All Round Foods + breads from COBS BREAD of Merrick + a voucher for a free loaf of bread from their Merrick or Oceanside store.
• Two cash prizes of $500 (1st place) and $250 (2nd place) will be awarded to whichever team has the most registration dollars, donations are appreciated but do not count for contest. The prize will be awarded to a 501 (c)(3) public charity. The team captain registers a team and as long as there are 3 people on the team, the team captain will win a $25 gift card. Currently registration is only $26 but will go up, visit registration page for details.
• Top 3 M/F Overall, $50 gift cards to winners and $25 gift cards to 2nd & 3rd place
• Top 3 M/F Masters 40+, $50 gift cards to winners and $25 gift cards to 2nd & 3rd place
• Top 3 M/F Age Groups: 12 & under all age group winners, 3 deep as noted above + overall and masters winners, 3 deep.
• I CHANGED MY MIND... medals for all finishers; if you are an age group winner, just wear your medal to the podium when we announce your age group for a photo.
• Free quarter mile toddlers run for kids under 4; all kiddos receive a medal. 8:30 am start, arrive by 8 am, no advance registration
• RAFFLES, for the past two years, everyone who stayed until the end won a raffle prize
• LIVE / Text / Email Results
• FREE Finish Line Photos
• Personalized Bibs if registered 3 weeks in advance
• No charge for people living with HIV, cancer or Veterans, kindly write me for a free code
• All participants + volunteers will receive $15 in gift certificates: $5 from Runyon’s of Seaford, $5 from Lido Kosher Deli and $5 from The Cabana, both of Long Beach
• Race announcer will be Tom Gillen

For us it is personal. Richard & Jodi Brodsky ran 5 & 6 marathons each in 2024 at age 72 & 70. Running even just 5Ks will keep you in a positive mindset; this will keep you alive and smiling. All my doctors thought my brain cancer would kill me between 2004 and 2006 except Dr. Casilda Balmaceda whose treatment has kept me running more marathons than before cancer. Thank you Dr. Joseph Mcgowan, my HIV infectious disease doctor at Northwell Health for keeping me strong. This is why my Foundation exists: to encourage others to lead a healthy, upbeat lifestyle and to run and make friends at 5K runs with folks who lead who lead exercise-oriented lives.

says Jodi Brodsky, 'there is one thing my husband can do better than anyone in the world: offer hope to people living with HIV & cancer and their family & friends. He has been living with HIV and brain cancer for a combined total of 53 years. We are married for 46 years and have 3 loving daughters and 4 grandchildren.'

Jodi Brodsky was recognized by USATF as Best Senior Masters Runner on Long Island for 2023.

says Mike Polansky, ' there is no harder working team of race directors on Long Island than Richard & Jodi Brodsky. Try it next year, a race by runners for runners.'

says Dave McGillivray, race director of Boston Marathon, Richard Brodsky is a tenacious runner and the only person in the world who

has run the Boston Marathon living with HIV+ brain cancer and is dedicated to improving the lives of people with both illnesses.

The Richard M. Brodsky Foundation will be applying to be an official Boston Marathon charity next for 2027 based on our global outreach work in Kenya, read more here.

Proceeds/toys/clothing/food to benefit people living w/ HIV & cancer at Center of AIDS Research & Treatment at Northwell Health / North Shore University Hospital (CAB), Hangout One Happy Place, American Legion Post #246, Options for Community Living, Harmony HealthCare Long Island, Kamp Kiwanis, Sunrise Day Camp + activities for people living w/ HIV & cancer.

The t-shirt above is not the exact color of the t-shirt. I asked GPT Chat to give the shirt a Renaissance look; the first attempt was too dark and this attempt is perfect. I always felt like I lived in the Renaissance and this photo sure makes Jodi and me look younger. Maybe we did meet 5 centuries ago.

Think of the t-shirt as a modern day Da Vinci code movie. Here's why. The image was painted by my grandmother's brother, Dr. Morton I. Berson. You can see the actual painting and the setting is Piraeus, Greece. My Uncle Morton was a pioneer in reconstructive surgery and he wrote the book, Atlas of Plastic Surgery. He also restored the faces of Greek children who were damaged beyond recognition from World War II and/or the Greek Civil War. He was honored by Queen Frederika of Greece in 1953. He married Miss Kentucky, Sarah Evelyn Cooper Berson in 1938 and they traveled around the world extensively giving lectures and showing video about reconstructive surgery. I am not certain if he served in World War II. According to GPT Chat, they had no record that he was an artist, but my mother has the painting and certificate and I did find some links confirming he was an artist. I would so love to know more about my uncle and possibly some of the people whose faces he restored. Some of these people would be in their 80s now; there are even a few names in the links below and he did restore some Greek children's faces in local hospitals in NYC where he served as chief of surgery. Here are a few links about Dr. Berson but more research is need, READ MORE (better to read on computer)



Uncle Morton was very handsome and according to GPT Chat he was the go to person for Hollywood starlets to get nose jobs in 1930. He was also engaged to a Ziegfeld dancer and he gave her $18,000 in jewelry. He did not know she was relocating to Hollywood where she had a movie contract and she did give him back the jewelry; a lawsuit was either initiated or pending. More research is needed about my Uncle Morton, i.e, did he serve in the military?

Start of the kid's run last year and no one had more fun than me. To be truthful, I wasn't sure if I should let these kids beat me, but they all beat me because they were faster than me.

Honoring America and Bob Koenig singing our national anthem

For our 19th annual 5K AIDS Cancer Run Walk we are using the same t-shirt vendor for our past two events and the dryfit shirt is more silky and is considerably lighter in weight. T-shirts run slightly large and long, if you are undecided between a small and medium, go with a small. A run and a t-shirt with the painting on both sides, slightly modified on the back + a voucher for a loaf of bread from COBS BREAD all for under $30!

My great uncle, Dr. Morton I. Berson's painting

My Uncle Morton's painting and a certificate showing it was exhibitied at the American Physician Art Association

We are always looking for donations:

• we provide the best event t-shirts but they are costly, and may be subject to tariffs, my problem not yours, and will affect donations I can make to charities. We currently have 3 t-shirt donors: Dean Backer & Family, Jeff Gural of GFP Real Estate, and Glen Wolther of allroundfoods.
• for the past 4 years, everyone who stayed until the end won a raffle prize.
• plenty of food
• Bob Koenig will be singing the national anthem to honor America and its veterans
• No charge for toddlers (toddler run), people living with HIV, cancer & veterans. People living with HIV, cancer or veterans can write me during the registration process for a free code.

Here is a link to our sponsor package

PROMOTING BALDWIN... THE RICHARD M. BRODSKY FOUNDATION SPONSORED THE FIRST 5K IN BALDWIN PARK IN 2014.

Baldwin is home to the best park in the Town of Hempstead. In 2014 the Richard M. Brodsky Foundation sponsored its 1st 5K AIDS Cancer Run Walk in Baldwin Park. My Foundation sponsored the first USATF certified 5K in the park. I know this because I had to pay $300 to have the course certified.

This year, there will be at least a dozen 5Ks in Baldwin Park and race directors having a 5K at the park may use my mile markers by contacting the park office. The park is ideal for running 5Ks for many reasons:

1) Kid friendly as it is closed to vehicular traffic while run/walk is in progress.

2) Excellent park staff.

3) Business community is eager to support, and it has the best Chamber of Commerce.

4) Diversity and vibrancy of community including Baldwin High School Key Club and Honor Society volunteers.

5) If organized correctly neighboring towns and community organizations are eager to send teams of runners + restaurants and delis are eager to provide coffee, pastries, heroes, wraps, pasta, and plenty of raffle prizes.

Organizing these events is a lot of work and I take great pride when Mike Polansky, former president of the Greater Long Island Running Club wrote, “there is no harder working team of race directors on Long Island than Richard and Jodi Brodsky.” For me it is personal, because people think if you are living with HIV, you cannot do good things, but I disagree and hope to dispel that myth. If anyone would like to use my mile markers, they are with the office at Baldwin Park and are free for any groups to use in conjunction with an approved event at the park. Thanks, Hareesha and Buddhini Boyagodage of Baldwin for bringing the greatest number of runners from a family to the 18th annual 5K AIDS Cancer Run Walk in Baldwin Park.

Click here to read Sponsorship package for 2026 5K AIDS Cancer Run Walk

May 31, 2026, 5K AIDS Cancer Run Walk

For the following donations you will be entitled to all gifts noted for smaller donations

• $25, your name will be noted on Event banner + you will receive a certificate of appreciation.
• $50, you will receive the 48 page book, Richard Brodsky's Journey of Hope.
• $100, your name on Event t-shirt, a shirt for you, donate by May 13.
• $250, your logo & website or phone number on Event t-shirt + 2 shirts for you, donate by May 13

for additional donations of

• $200, your website will be linked to 5kaidscancer.com.
• $250, your logo will appear on Event banner, donate by May 27.
• $5,000, cost for 500 t-shirt, your name will be noted on shirts, for donating shirts.