Historically, one of Oneonta, NY's biggest community events, The Pit Run, which began following the tragic death of a hometown hero, Ricky J. Parisian, will be retiring according to a press release sent out this morning from the Ricky J. Parisian Memorial Scholarship Foundation.

The Pit Run had its last event in October of 2021 and was held in-person drawing over one thousand runners of all ages from seven states outside of New York with the race's 10k winner coming from California.

At each Pit Run over the last 28 years, proceeds from the races each year go to the Ricky J. Parisian Memorial Scholarship Foundation which benefits a graduating senior at Oneonta High School. The scholarship also helps to fund youth-oriented programs in the area.

For those of us who have either participated or cheered on family and friends in this event, volunteered, or just enjoyed Brooks BBQ in Neahwa Park, it seems hard to believe that this event is no longer.

Here's the good news though, the mission of the event, to support the Ricky J. Parisian Memorial Scholarship Foundation which is awarded to a carefully selected graduating Oneonta High School senior moving on to higher education, will continue on thanks to the past successes of Pit Run events. The letter states that the Foundation has enough money to support the scholarship for years to come. The Foundation would also like to continue to award grants to area youth programs as it has over the years and will be exploring if that's possible. If you would like to help them continue their mission of community grants, you can support the foundation at www.parisianfoundation.com.

As a long-time Oneontan, I have really not only enjoyed the Pit Run event over the years but have witnessed over and over again, the dedication that all the volunteers and Pit Run committee members have shown to make Oneonta a better place to live. A big thank you to the Parisian family and all involved and we look forward to seeing this mission continue in its support of the Greater Oneonta community.

To find out more about the Ricky J. Parisian Memorial Scholarship Foundation visit Pitrun.org.

To leave you with something fun, The Oneonta Boys and Girls Club created this video from the 2021 Pit Run to show their involvement in the event. Check it out below.

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