On Saturday, August 23, Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter will trade its usual morning quiet for a start line buzzing with anticipation. Picture runners in neon singlets, parents pushing jogging strollers, wheelchairs gleaming in the sun and even rowers warming up on stationary ergs. Unified Dexter 5K is a celebration of athleticism, inclusion and the power of community.
The event is part of a national series founded by Massachusetts-based nonprofit AdaptX, led by Brendan Aylward, who’s been hosting the Unified 5K in his home state for seven years. When it came time to expand, he knew exactly where to look.
“I’ve worked with the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness program for years,” Aylward said. “Erik and Brian there are pioneers in adaptive sport at the collegiate level. Hudson Mills was the perfect venue—accessible, beautiful and just right for bringing the running community and disability inclusion together.”
Every body belongs
The Unified 5K is exactly what it sounds like: unified. Participants are invited to run, walk, roll or row—whatever gets them to the finish line. And if past events are any indication, that finish line will be thick with emotion.
In Massachusetts, a young girl crossed it after enduring multiple heart surgeries. In Minnesota, a woman completed her first 5K post–spinal cord injury in three determined hours—met by a cheering crowd that had waited just for her. And then there’s Moses and Mark, a racing duo gifted a Hoyt running chair through the event; two weeks later, they clocked a Boston Marathon qualifying time at Grandma’s Marathon.
“Seeing these moments,” Aylward said, “reinforces that the goal isn’t to finish fast—it’s to finish together.”
Try this on for size
Adding to the day’s energy is the AdaptXpo, a hands-on showcase of adaptive sports and technology. Think amputee soccer, adaptive bicycles and para powerlifting—demonstrations designed to inspire and challenge perceptions.
Aylward’s personal favorite? The amputee soccer exhibit. “I love watching participants without disabilities try the sport and realize how difficult it is. It reinforces the idea that para and adaptive sports are not lesser than—they require just as much skill, strength and dedication.”
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Beyond the finish line
The race is the starting gun for what AdaptX hopes to accomplish in Michigan. Funds raised will support the Ann Arbor YMCA in becoming more inclusive, from training staff on disability awareness to making physical spaces more accessible.
There’s also a life-changing gift in the works: a running blade for a local 16-year-old amputee who competes in soccer and track. And through a new adaptive athlete grant program, $20,000 will be disbursed this fall to athletes with disabilities across sports.
“While a singular event can be important,” Aylward says, “I want the impact of our work to be ongoing and sustainable.”
The heart behind the mission
Aylward’s journey started when he was just 16, meeting a boy named Jacob through his high school’s Best Buddies program. He later became Jacob’s personal care assistant in college, and the pair began racing together with Team Hoyt New England.
“We’ve run more than 100 races together,” he said. “That first race changed my life, and I hope these events can have a similar effect on someone else.”
It’s that mix of personal connection and professional mission that fuels his relentless work to expand the Unified 5K across the country—and, as of last weekend, to Uganda, where the inaugural Unified 5K there welcomed more than 200 individuals with disabilities to the starting line.
On August 23, the path at Hudson Mills will be a course lined with proof that sports welcome everyone, that effort comes in many forms and that the best finish lines are the ones we cross together.
