Mount Kisco Small Business Spotlight: Kisco Run

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. And that’s the belief behind this exciting series — to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

• Business: Kisco Run, LLC
• Partners: Lisa Abzun, Kathy Lynch, Eileen Polese
• Website: www.kiscorun.com
• Address: 145 Croton Avenue, Mt. Kisco

How did you come up with the name?

We had wanted to start a 5K road race through our town of Mount Kisco for a number of years. When we sat down to decide on a name, we wanted it to be more than just a 5K race. We wanted to highlight and focus on the running community of Mount Kisco. Kisco Run was an easy choice as a result.

Why start a business in this town?

There is a large running and walking community in Mount Kisco. We know because we are also runners who have logged many miles around town. We have also participated and enjoyed many races in surrounding towns, and we wanted to bring a race to our community. We chose September 20th as the 5K race date because it coincides with the Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce Sidewalk Sales Days. What better way to highlight all that Mount Kisco has to offer, than kick-off Sunday morning with a fun race through town.

What business are you in?

The inaugural Kisco 5K road race was held September 2014 and it was an even bigger success than we anticipated! Since then we created a Youth Summer Run Series in Leonard Park. And now we are focused on our 2nd annual 5K race on September 20th at 8:30am, starting and ending in Kirby Plaza. Our goal is to continue to build upon the strong Mount Kisco running community that spans all ages of runners with a variety of programs and races throughout the year.

What’s the most difficult challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?

When we conceived of the idea to bring a 5K race to Mount Kisco, we did not realize how many moving parts go into organizing such a big event. We have been fortunate to have so much help from the town of Mount Kisco, the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, and friends in order to make the 5K race and Summer Run Series a reality and a success. Without a great deal of hard work and assistance, our dreams of creating Kisco Run would have been stuck in the planning stages.

What’s been your proudest achievement since opening?

Last year, we hoped for 100 runners at our inaugural 5K race, but on race day we were pleasantly surprised to have over 300 runners and walkers signed up. We have also been blown away by the tremendous outpouring of support we have received from many local Mount Kisco businesses, through sponsorships, in-kind gift donations, and volunteer hours. As we approach our 2nd annual 5K race on September 20th, we are absolutely thrilled and proud to see the local community of runners, walkers, and businesses show their support for Kisco Run.

How does your business give back to the community?

Last year we were able to donate a portion of our proceeds to two Mount Kisco not-for-profit entities - Northern Westchester Hospital and the Mount Kisco Volunteer Ambulance Corps. We also asked race participants to bring nonperishable foods to the race, and we were able to donate over 300 pounds of food to the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry. We plan to make similar donations again this year.

Would you like to see your small business showcased in this series? Email wendy.mitchell@patch.com.