08/22/2025
HONORING MIKE SHORE: FOUNDNG RACE DIRECTOR
We dedicate this year’s race to the memory of Mike Shore, who passed away in June at the much-too-young age of 73.
The South Nyack 10-Miler has always been more than a road race. Since its earliest days, it has embodied the spirit of community, family, and giving back. At the heart of that vision was its founding race director, Mike Shore, who passed away on June 5, 2025, at the age of 73.
Mike’s influence on the race can be traced back to its earliest years in the 1980s. Working closely with Tom Carroll and the Village of South Nyack, he helped transform a beloved local 7.8-mile event into the 10-mile course that has now endured for nearly four decades. He laid out the first routes, insisted on mile-by-mile split clocks, championed the early 8:30 a.m. start time, and made sure runners were greeted at the finish line with ice cream and camaraderie. To him, it was essential that the 10-Miler be a “runner’s race”—accurate, welcoming, and memorable.
But Mike’s commitment went deeper than logistics. The race was conceived as a fundraiser for the Rockland Friends of Autistic Children, a support group created by local parents. Its programs offered respite for families and activities where autistic children could build social and communication skills. For Mike, this mission was deeply personal: he and his wife, Sunny, were raising a son with autism. Directing the South Nyack 10-Miler became a labor of love—a way to channel his passion for running into advocacy and tangible support for families like his own.
Though Mike never raced the event himself, he made a tradition of running the course afterward with his friend and fellow runner, Steve Ozer. Steve remembers Mike not just as a race director, but as a lifelong companion: “Mike and I shared so much that he made me feel a part of the family. I am a better person today through our friendship. His love for his family will always be felt and his ‘legend’ will remain.”
Within the Rockland Road Runners, Mike’s impact reached well past the South Nyack 10-Miler. He was a dedicated volunteer, a tireless supporter of workouts, races, and meetings. Fellow members remember his steady enthusiasm and his knack for drawing others into the sport he loved. As longtime clubmate Mike Angola recalled, “He was passionate about making it a true runner’s race… but always, Mike put family first.”
Today, as the South Nyack 10-Miler celebrates its 37th year, we honor Mike Shore not just for founding a race, but for building a tradition. He showed how running could serve both community and cause, and how one person’s dedication could leave an enduring mark. His legacy lives on in every mile run here, in the families supported along the way, and in the countless friendships forged through this sport he so dearly loved.
Honoring Mike Shore, Founding Race Director, 1951–2025.
