The annual Fun with the Fuzz 5K brought runners, walkers, and families through Bellingham's streets on Saturday, April 19, with temporary traffic impacts on Girard Street, Broadway, Eldridge Avenue, and Monroe Street for approximately one hour as the race moved through its course. The Bellingham Police Department shared a reminder for drivers to expect delays and wish participants a good and safe race.
Fun with the Fuzz is a community-centered road race held each spring in Bellingham that brings together law enforcement officers, their families, and neighbors for a morning of movement and connection. The race is organized by the Behind the Badge Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial support to families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. One hundred percent of proceeds from the race go directly to the Foundation's mission. Whether participants are competitive runners, casual walkers, stroller-pushing parents, or leash-holding dog owners, the event is designed to be welcoming to everyone.
The race starts and finishes near the Bellingham Police Department at 505 Grand Avenue. Day-of registration and check-in opened at 7:45 a.m. with the race getting underway at 9:00 a.m. Registration cost was $20. The route through the Girard, Broadway, Eldridge, and Monroe corridors took participants through established residential and commercial neighborhoods near downtown Bellingham before looping back to the finish line.
The Behind the Badge Foundation was established to address the financial hardship that families of fallen officers face in the immediate aftermath of a line-of-duty death. While federal programs exist to assist these families, the process of accessing those benefits can take months or years. The Foundation provides emergency financial assistance to bridge that gap, as well as longer-term support for education and living expenses. It is one of several organizations nationwide providing this kind of support, though the Fun with the Fuzz race has given it a distinctly local presence in Bellingham and Whatcom County.
Community races like Fun with the Fuzz serve a dual purpose that pure fundraisers don't. They create a visible, shared experience between law enforcement and the people they serve, at a time when building and maintaining that relationship requires consistent, genuine effort. Officers participate not as authority figures but as neighbors who run the same streets they patrol. That kind of visibility matters, and events like this one have a track record of building goodwill that goes beyond the morning of the race.
Bellingham and Whatcom County have a number of community events throughout spring and summer that involve temporary road closures. Drivers are encouraged to check in with the City of Bellingham's transportation and events calendar for upcoming closures. The city also posts event-related traffic alerts through its official channels.
For more information on the Behind the Badge Foundation and to support its work year-round, visit behindthebadgefoundation.org. Future Fun with the Fuzz race dates and registration will be posted there as they are announced for 2027.
