New Orleans is getting its own chapter of a run that began in a Brooklyn tunnel 25 years ago. The inaugural Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk arrives in the area on Nov. 1, inviting runners, walkers and families to retrace the path once taken by a New York City firefighter who gave his life trying to save others on Sept. 11, 2001.
The event is listed by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation as part of its national Run, Walk & Climb Series, and according to WWL/Audacy, it is presented by RWC. As reported by WGNO, the run and walk is designed to mimic firefighter Stephen Siller's journey through the tunnel, and organizers are aiming to make it a true community event supporting the foundation's mission.
Per WGNO's reporting, the course starts at the Harvey tunnel and ends at the riverfront in Gretna, and the inaugural race will not be timed, leaving room for runners and walkers of all speeds, including families, to take part together. Event listings on HelloDrifter place the gathering point at 808 MacArthur Avenue in Harvey, though the organizer has not published a formal course map for the race.
Why Organizers Brought the Race to Louisiana
WGNO reports that Mark Cambre Jr. said the event was brought to New Orleans after organizers attended similar races in Mississippi and learned more about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's work. That foundation, per WWL/Audacy, provides life-changing support to veterans, catastrophically injured first responders, and the families of heroes lost in the line of duty. Robert Wolfe Construction is listed as a sponsor and vendor for the New Orleans race, and WGNO reports the company has also remodeled homes to make them handicap accessible for people in need.
Participants can donate through Tunnel to Towers' website or the race page itself, the station notes. The foundation's broader Run & Walk series, according to the DeSoto County News, raises money for programs that include mortgage-free homes, custom smart homes built for the catastrophically injured, and efforts addressing veteran homelessness.
Honoring Stephen Siller's Run Through the Tunnel
The event's name and route trace back to one firefighter's actions a quarter-century ago. On Sept. 11, 2001, Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter, strapped 60 pounds of firefighting gear to his back and ran roughly three miles through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel on foot toward the Twin Towers, according to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. He helped rescue people at the towers and died there while doing so, WGNO reports.
Elsewhere in the Gulf South, similar races have shown how these events can galvanize a community. The first Hernando Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk in Mississippi raised more than $8,500 through 55 individual fundraisers, with the Gold Strike Casino team alone contributing $6,000 to meet its team goal, per the DeSoto County News. In Biloxi, the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Climb returned to Margaritaville with participants running or walking across part of the Biloxi Bay Bridge, according to WTOC/WTOK, which reported that event raised more than $46,000 and included a 110-floor climb matching the height of the World Trade Center. Organizers of the Biloxi event had hoped to reach 2,977 registered participants, matching the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, the Daily Dispatch reported.
A Foundation Marking 25 Years Since 9/11
The New Orleans race lands during a year the national foundation has used to mark a quarter-century since the attacks. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced it is providing 55 mortgage payoffs or mortgage-free homes to families of fallen first responders across 18 states, and the organization says it is delivering 343 mortgage-free homes throughout 2026 in tribute to the 343 New York City firefighters who died on Sept. 11, 2001, according to its own 25th anniversary announcement.
The foundation also says it has delivered more than 2,000 mortgage-free homes and provided housing assistance and essential services to more than 20,000 veterans, per its own materials. A separate account from Sports Illustrated states that the foundation has delivered or is in the process of delivering more than 1,200 mortgage-free homes to the nation's heroes, a figure that differs from the foundation's own tally. The foundation has also said it provided housing assistance and access to supportive services to more than 20,000 veterans and their families through its Veterans Villages and National Case Management Network, and it launched its national Homeless Veteran Program in 2022.
For New Orleans, the Nov. 1 race marks the start of a local tradition tied to that national effort, organizers hope, with the course through Harvey and into Gretna standing in for the tunnel Siller once ran through alone.
