Mattapan Unity 5K gets large turnout for inaugural outing
- mffcweb
- Aug 15, 2025
- 2 min read
By: Seth Daniel, News Editor | August 13, 2025
With the sound of the starter’s horn, 380 participants in the first-ever Mattapan Unity 5K were off and running on Saturday morning.
The officially sanctioned, sold-out race was based at Ryan Playground and utilized the Neponset Greenway trail and nearby roads, like River Street, which was shut down to vehicular traffic for the event.
“It was amazing to see everyone show up and the support we got from our community was amazing,” said Ruth Georges-Innis, who organized the event with her husband, Robert Innis. “We knew what we were doing, and we knew our community would support us, but seeing it happen Saturday morning was amazing.”
She said it was “a challenge” to get officials to agree to close River Street for 1.5 hours. “We had to pitch it because it required city resources, but they agreed, and it couldn’t have worked out any better,” she said. “Mattapan is really becoming a community that activates its parks.”
The top three men’s finishers were Gerson Lopes (16:58), Winston Vaughan (17:47), and Jack Fahey (19:01). The top three women’s finishers were Nerecia Myers (20:44), Christine Bowe (23:04), and Mary Ulseth (23:27).
In addition to the race, a vendor fair took place in the park. A “health champion” award was presented to Shavel’le Olivier of Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC), and the “community champion” award went to Fatima Ali-Salaam of the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council (GMNC).
The event was organized by a partnership involving Cummins Highway Neighborhood Association, GMNC, and MFFC.
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