Kelly’s Angels Mother-Lovin’ 5K Registration Opens; Event Returns to Spa State Park for Mother’s Day

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Registration has opened for Kelly’s Angels’ annual Mother-Lovin’ 5K Run/Walk, which is returning to Saratoga Spa State Park on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11 to raise money for children and families in need.

The 13th annual event serves as the main annual fundraiser for Kelly’s Angels’ mission to help families who have lost loved ones to cancer or other illness or are battling life-threatening conditions.

The activities on Mother’s Day step off at 8:45 a.m. with a free Kids’ Fun Run in which children ages 9 and under race toward the finish line with moms and dads rooting them on or running alongside.

The Mother-Lovin’ 5K begins at 9:15 a.m. But it is much more than a walk (or run) in the park: before the race an auction of great prizes such as restaurant gift certificates, wine, fitness and beauty baskets, and gifts for kids will be held.  Complimentary goodies include chocolate milk from King Brothers Dairy, donuts from Westy’s Cider Donuts and more. 

Advance registration is $35 for individuals through March 31, $40 between April 1 and May 10 and race-day registration is $45. T-shirts will only be guaranteed for the first 1,000 who sign up by April 22.

Online registration can be done through May 10 at: www.kellysangelsinc.org. 

Those participating in person can pick up their registration packets in advance on Saturday, May 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Spa State Park’s Orenda Pavilion. Day-of-race registration and packet pickup begins at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, May 11 at Orenda Pavilion.

Kelly’s Angels was founded by NewsChannel 13’s Mark Mulholland in memory of his wife Kelly, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 37, leaving behind the couple’s 7-year-old son Connor and 5-year-old daughter McKenna.

Since then, Kelly’s Angels has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships to Capital Region children and families. Kelly’s Angels gives Fun Grants to children who have lost a parent, primary caregiver, or sibling to cancer. The grants allow kids to buy something special or visit a place that makes them happy. 

Kelly’s Angels also provides college scholarships to area students who have overcome adversity and shown a commitment to helping other children. “Angel Aid” helps families struggling with expenses related to life-threatening illness, and “Angel Hugs” are a single, modest grant to remind a surviving parent that we remember and are here for them. The “Hugs for Ukraine” program aids children who relocated to the Capital District to flee the war in their home country.