Manayunk Tomato Trot organized in memory of Arnold ‘Bud’ Mosmen, Jr.

The Couch Tomato Café and The Tomato Bistro in Manayunk will host the first annual “Manayunk Tomato Trot” on Sept. 29 to benefit lung cancer research. 

The four-mile trail run will begin at the parking lot on Lock Street at 4:30 p.m. spanning two miles west along the Manayunk Towpath. Participants will return and finish the race along that same path.

Owners Craig Mosmen and Michael Cassano got the idea for the charity run from a news article about a similar “pizza run” in New York City.

In addition to creating a fun annual event for the community and customers, they wanted it to serve as a memory of Mosmen’s father, Arnold “Bud” Mosmen, Jr., who lost his life to lung cancer in 2007.

Hardworking, a family man, funny, friendly, social, very likable were words that Mosmen used to describe his father. He said he was also very active in Albany assisting with the high school hockey and football teams.

Race management group, “Run The Day,” will provide microchip timing equipment to easily track times and post the results online.

Mosmen said 140 runners have already registered and he expects there will be a varied group of runners.

“Some participants will come because they want to support our business and they like us, some will be here because they enjoy shorter races and some are more serious and are training for a marathon and are very competitive and just want to win the race,” he said.

Each registrant will be given a t-shirt, runner’s bib, “tomato trot” bracelet, a micro chip and a packet of menu vouchers such as free beers, pizza slices and buffets.

Following the race, there will also be a block party in front of The Couch Tomato Café and The Tomato Bistro including an award ceremony, live music by Dan Fantz, and free pizza slices for all of the participants.

The winner of the race will win one full year of free pizza. The second place winner will receive free pizza for six months and the third place will win free pizza for three months. The limit is one large pizza per week.

One hundred percent of the race’s profits will be donated to LUNGevity. Also, runners that dine at The Tomato Bistro after the race can also further help LUNGevity as five percent of their check will go to the charity.

Registration costs $25 online and $30 the day of the race. For more information and to register, click here.