About
Sports Backers Youth Sports & Active Living Programs include activities such as running, biking, walking, swimming, workouts, and fitness classes. The programs also include Kids on the Move, which is an action-packed program designed specifically for kids and supports school-based run and fitness clubs. Fitness Warriors offers free fitness classes throughout the community every week as part of these efforts.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Price: Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k prices go up on February 1.
Sports Backers is a nonprofit organization that, during the past 34 years, has developed programs and events that are designed to inspire people to live actively. Its mission is to inspire people to live actively. The organization fosters community through events, advocacy, and fitness, and it owns and produces many events throughout the year, including some of the largest and most successful of their kind in the country. Sports Backers’ training teams are led by experienced volunteer coaches, and 8,000 people annually volunteer to support its events and programs.
The organization leads several related initiatives, including Bike Walk RVA, which advocates for safe, connected spaces to bike and walk for all ages and abilities, and Active RVA, a regional collaborative movement that works with businesses, schools, and early childhood organizations to get every corner of the community moving. Sports Backers is the lead organization advocating for the completion of the Fall Line trail through its Bike Walk RVA program; the Fall Line will be a 43-mile long, north-south trail spine that will connect Ashland, Hanover, Henrico, Richmond, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg. The ALL Stars program provides education, hands-on experiences, and mentorship to a cohort of 20 ALL Star Student-Athletes through in-person and virtual learning opportunities over 10 months.
The Active RVA Certification and Awards program recognizes the Richmond region’s exceptional employers and schools that are implementing innovative programs to promote physical activity, and hundreds of organizations have earned Active RVA Certification for their embrace of active living. Sports Backers’ community involvement includes working through a network of collaborative partnerships with other organizations, businesses, local governments, and faith-based institutions, supporting 25 other sports tourism events owned and operated by nonprofit organizations in the Richmond region in the last year, and providing active living opportunities for residents of lower income communities. Ryan McCracken serves as Development Manager on the organization’s leadership team.
Last updated February 9, 2026.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Price: Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k prices go up on February 1.
Sports Backers is a nonprofit organization that, during the past 34 years, has developed programs and events that are designed to inspire people to live actively. Its mission is to inspire people to live actively. The organization fosters community through events, advocacy, and fitness, and it owns and produces many events throughout the year, including some of the largest and most successful of their kind in the country. Sports Backers’ training teams are led by experienced volunteer coaches, and 8,000 people annually volunteer to support its events and programs.
The organization leads several related initiatives, including Bike Walk RVA, which advocates for safe, connected spaces to bike and walk for all ages and abilities, and Active RVA, a regional collaborative movement that works with businesses, schools, and early childhood organizations to get every corner of the community moving. Sports Backers is the lead organization advocating for the completion of the Fall Line trail through its Bike Walk RVA program; the Fall Line will be a 43-mile long, north-south trail spine that will connect Ashland, Hanover, Henrico, Richmond, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg. The ALL Stars program provides education, hands-on experiences, and mentorship to a cohort of 20 ALL Star Student-Athletes through in-person and virtual learning opportunities over 10 months.
The Active RVA Certification and Awards program recognizes the Richmond region’s exceptional employers and schools that are implementing innovative programs to promote physical activity, and hundreds of organizations have earned Active RVA Certification for their embrace of active living. Sports Backers’ community involvement includes working through a network of collaborative partnerships with other organizations, businesses, local governments, and faith-based institutions, supporting 25 other sports tourism events owned and operated by nonprofit organizations in the Richmond region in the last year, and providing active living opportunities for residents of lower income communities. Ryan McCracken serves as Development Manager on the organization’s leadership team.
Last updated February 9, 2026.
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