11/08: A 5K Through the Bronx's Old-Growth Forest
The Garden's second 5K covers 3.1 miles of road and trail through the Thain Family Forest, with no chip timing, live music from the Fordham University Pep Band and a finish party on Daffodil Hill. Registration includes the All-Garden Pass for the rest of the day, and a spectator ticket covers anyone who would rather walk and cheer.
🏃 Sunday's Garden 5K
🏃 Who Can Enter
Entry is open to ages 13 and up, and anyone 13 to 17 needs a parent's permission plus a registered adult running or walking with them. Runners place themselves in pace corrals for wave starts. Nothing here is timed, though clocks sit at the start and finish. No strollers, no bag check, and the course is not ADA accessible. Registration closes November 7 at 8 a.m., or earlier if capacity fills.
🌳 The Course
The route starts at the top of Daffodil Hill, past the Rose Garden and the lilac collection, then into the Thain Family Forest, one of New York City's largest remaining old-growth forests. Roughly a mile of this year's course is new terrain. The last 200 meters run along the Visitor Center cheer zone before the finish at the Native Plant Garden, and surfaces are uneven in places. Check-in is at the Main Entrance from 7 to 8:15 a.m., and the walk from the Metro-North Botanical Garden stop takes about 10 minutes. Heading back to Grand Central, allow 10 to 15 extra minutes: the pedestrian overpass above the tracks has been closed since July 21, 2026, and the southbound platform is reached by a detour posted across the Bedford Park Boulevard bridge.
🎽 Run It or Just Come
Runner registration is $55 for members and $65 otherwise, and it covers the run, a T-shirt, the Daffodil Hill party and the All-Garden Pass from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you would rather not run, a spectator ticket still gets you in to cheer and stay, from $17 for children to $39 for adults. Guests may cheer runners by the Visitor Center and join the Daffodil Hill celebration from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Kiku runs until 4 p.m., with taiko drumming at 12:30 and 2:30, and the course closes at 10 a.m.
