Sam Lapidus Montclair Run Birmingham, AL   Nov 27, 2025

Every year on Thanksgiving Day the LJCC welcomes the Birmingham community to Montclair Road for the Sam Lapidus Montclair Run (SLMR), an event that celebrates the life of Sam Lapidus while raising funds for the LJCC and the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders.

The event started back in 1976 as The Montclair Run, and quickly grew in popularity. Now boasting some 1,500 runners of all ages and abilities, the SLMR serves as a Thanksgiving tradition for many families and out-of-town visitors. The event is the LJCC’s most significant annual fundraiser.

In 2009 the run was renamed to honor of Sam, who spent much of his childhood at the LJCC. From preschool to youth soccer, to hanging out after school and playing in the gym or working out on the Fitness Floor — if you couldn’t find Sam at home, he was most likely at The J. During the six years that he battled Ewing’s Sarcoma, a form of childhood cancer, Sam refused to let cancer define him and spent every minute he could at The J.

Although Sam died in November 2008, just days before his 15th birthday, his fighting spirit lives on at The J and among those who knew and loved him. It is therefore fitting that the Sam Lapidus Montclair Run benefits the LJCC, which Sam loved, and childhood cancer, which Sam so bravely fought. Five dollars of every runner’s registration is donated to the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, which so far has amounted to more than $100,000 since 2009.

A USATF-certified course
The SLMR starts in front of the LJCC at 3960 Montclair Road. Runners head west on Montclair Road to Memory Lane; turn around and head east on Montclair Road. 5K runners turn around at the 5K markers which will be manned by volunteers. 10K runners continue to Putnam Middle School, where they turn around. The course has been certified by USA Track & Field.

Both races finish in the LJCC parking lot.