TVC 5K returns, runners cross airport runway for Wings of Mercy

Runners will trade pavement for runway at Cherry Capital Airport, where the fifth TVC Run the Runway 5K will send participants across the airport’s closed north-south strip on May 16 while raising money for Wings of Mercy.

The 5K is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 9 a.m., with packet pickup set for Friday, May 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Fleet Feet on East Front Street in Traverse City. The course is billed as a run-walk on the actual closed runway, a rare setup that gives the fundraiser its draw and gives the airport a very public role in a community cause.

That cause is medical transportation. Wings of Mercy provides 100% free flights for patients who cannot travel commercially and need long-distance medical care. The nonprofit says its volunteer pilots have flown more than 8,000 patient flights since 1991, carrying people to and from distant medical destinations when serious or rare illnesses require care that is not available close to home.

The organization says the average mission costs about $800, and it estimates that about $65 a month can support one life-giving flight per year. Eligible patients must be cleared by a doctor for travel in a small aircraft and must be traveling to or from Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana or Illinois.

That mission makes the race about more than a novelty start line. In northern Michigan, distance can be part of the medical challenge, especially for patients heading to specialty treatment centers hundreds of miles away. Wings of Mercy gives those patients another option, using volunteer pilots to turn a regional airport into a lifeline.

Steve Melvin is serving as race director, and he is also a volunteer pilot. Local coverage has noted that Melvin has personal experience with cancer, giving him a direct understanding of what it means when patients need every possible source of help.

Cherry Capital Airport, meanwhile, is a major regional travel hub, with service to more than 300 domestic and international destinations through major carriers. On May 16, that everyday transportation role will shift into something more symbolic as runners fill the runway for a cause tied directly to access to care.

The event has become an annual tradition, with Wings of Mercy archiving earlier TVC5K announcements and listing the 2026 race as the fifth edition. For one morning, the airport will be both a race course and a reminder that volunteer aviation still matters when the next treatment is far from home.