The 25th Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC took place Sunday, September 27, 2026. The sold-out field retraced FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller’s route from Red Hook, Brooklyn, through the tunnel to Lower Manhattan. A nor’easter was still hitting New York City with wind, rain and coastal flooding, and organizers kept the milestone run on schedule.
Key Takeaways
- The 2026 race was capped at 30,000 participants and sold out ahead of race day.
- The 9:30 a.m. start ran from Red Hook, Brooklyn, to West and Murray streets in Lower Manhattan.
- A special procession featured a steel beam from the South Tower of the World Trade Center, which had traveled on the foundation’s Steel Across America Tour this summer.
- Stephen Siller ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel on September 11, 2001, carrying about 60 pounds of fire gear toward the Twin Towers.
- Race-day conditions came during a coastal flood warning for Brooklyn and southern Queens that remained in effect until 6 p.m. Sunday.
- For security reasons, every registrant had to pick up a bib by 5 p.m. Saturday, with no distribution on race day.
Tunnel to Towers Run Retraces Stephen Siller’s Final Route
The Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC follows a specific path for a specific reason. On the morning of September 11, 2001, FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller was off duty when he heard about the attacks. Traffic had stopped at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, now called the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. Siller strapped on roughly 60 pounds of gear and ran through it on foot toward the World Trade Center. He did not survive the day.
Twenty-five years later, the Tunnel to Towers 5K sends tens of thousands of people along that same corridor. Participants start in Red Hook, pass through the tunnel’s long, echoing tube and come up into Lower Manhattan near West and Murray streets. Few other road races in the city carry that kind of weight. The course isn’t a scenic loop or a qualifying event. It’s a moving memorial, and the tunnel is its center.
The run honors the 343 FDNY firefighters killed on 9/11, along with law enforcement officers, the thousands of civilians lost that day and people still living with 9/11-related illnesses. It also recognizes service members who died in the line of duty in the years that followed.
A South Tower Steel Beam Anchored the 25th Anniversary
The 25th Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC added a procession featuring a steel beam from the South Tower. The beam spent the summer on the foundation’s Steel Across America Tour. Its return to Lower Manhattan for the run gave the anniversary a physical connection to the site itself.
Frank Siller, Stephen Siller’s brother and the chairman and CEO of Tunnel to Towers, described the event ahead of the weekend as tens of thousands of people running through the tunnel “honoring his memory and the memory of all those heroes who continue his legacy of selfless sacrifice.” The foundation he started supports the families of first responders and veterans. The annual 5K has become one of its most visible public events.
The 2026 calendar also marked the 25th anniversary with other downtown events. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation retraced Stephen Siller’s steps on September 11 as the Steel Across America Tour came back to New York. Earlier in the year, Lower Manhattan hosted the 25th edition of a film festival co-founded in 2002 to help revive downtown after 9/11. Taken together, the anniversary events show how much of the neighborhood’s recent history traces back to that single morning.
Nor’easter Conditions Tested the Sold-Out Field
The Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC fell in the middle of the storm. Governor Kathy Hochul had declared a State of Emergency for New York City, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Friday. The city’s travel advisory ran through Sunday morning, and the National Weather Service kept a coastal flood warning in place for Brooklyn and southern Queens until Sunday evening.
The run went ahead anyway. Organizers advised participants to layer up and wear shoes they didn’t mind soaking, and the crowd showed up in force. Running through wind and rain to finish near Ground Zero fit the spirit of the event: Stephen Siller’s run was never about comfortable conditions, and the people honoring him seemed to understand that.
Security and logistics had been set well in advance. Every registrant needed a bib by 5 p.m. Saturday, and none were handed out on race day. The field included timed and untimed adult runners, children 14 and under, and walkers, so first responders, families and casual participants could all join in.
Tunnel to Towers Remains a Civic Ritual for New York
The Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC occupies a place on the city calendar that few events share. It isn’t a competition in the usual sense, and finishing times matter less than showing up. Many participants run in full turnout gear, carry flags, or wear the names and photos of people they lost.
The 25th running arrived as the September 11 attacks move further into history for younger New Yorkers. Many participants in the 2026 field weren’t born in 2001. For them, the tunnel run works as a lesson in what happened, delivered through the effort of the course rather than a museum exhibit. Holding the run through a nor’easter only strengthened that lesson.
FAQs
What is the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk?
The Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC is an annual event that retraces the route FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller ran on September 11, 2001. It honors the first responders and civilians lost that day, along with those affected by 9/11-related illnesses.
Where does the Tunnel to Towers 5K start and finish?
The 2026 run started in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and passed through the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel to finish near West and Murray streets in Lower Manhattan. The route follows Stephen Siller’s path toward the World Trade Center.
How many people took part in the 2026 Tunnel to Towers run?
The 2026 race was capped at 30,000 participants and sold out before race day. The field included runners, walkers, children, first responders and veterans.
Did the nor’easter cancel the Tunnel to Towers 5K?
No, the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC went ahead as scheduled on Sunday, September 27, 2026. Organizers advised participants to dress in layers and wear shoes suited to wet conditions.
Who was Stephen Siller?
Stephen Siller was an FDNY firefighter who ran through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel carrying about 60 pounds of gear to reach the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He died in the attacks, and his family founded Tunnel to Towers in his memory.
