1,501 Strong: Hope is Alive’s 2026 Run for Hope

1,501 Strong: Hope is Alive’s 2026 Run for Hope

There are a lot of numbers we could use to tell you about this year’s Run for Hope.

685 people joined us in Oklahoma City, 344 in Tulsa, 162 in Weatherford, 156 in Colorado Springs, and another 154 participated virtually. Altogether, 1,501 people showed up this year, and we’re incredibly grateful for every single one of them.

But there’s another number from this year that means even more to us: 160. 160 lives lost to the impacts of addiction.

If you’ve been to Hope is Alive’s Run for Hope before, you know this isn’t just another 5K. Yes, people come to run and walk. But people also come because addiction has touched their lives in some way.

There are people running who are years into recovery and people who are just getting started. There are parents who spent years wondering if their child would ever get sober standing next to parents who would give anything for one more day with theirs. There are spouses, siblings, kids, friends, coworkers, and entire families who know firsthand what addiction can take from a person, but who also know what can happen when someone gets another chance.

That mix of celebration and remembrance is really what Run for Hope is all about.

We want to celebrate recovery because it deserves to be celebrated. We want people who are still struggling to see that there are thousands of people living full, meaningful lives on the other side of addiction. But we also want to make space for the families who have lost loved ones, because the people they lost were more than their addiction, and their lives deserve to be remembered.

This year, we got to do both alongside more than 1,500 of you.

Run for Hope keeps getting bigger, and of course we love seeing more people come out every year. But the reason we want it to grow has never been about having the biggest race or putting another number on a page.

We want more people to know that recovery is possible. We want more families to know there are people who understand what they’re going through. We want to keep remembering the people addiction has taken from us, while doing everything we can to make sure more people get the chance to recover.

So, to everyone who ran, walked, volunteered, donated, sponsored an event, brought your family, or simply came out to support someone you love, thank you. Thank you for helping us raise awareness about addiction.