A year after a hit-and-run, San Jose man returning to Stars and Strides Run

I met Laura Garmany and her mother-in-law, Lori Garmany at last year’s Stars and Strides Run.

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They were hard to miss: Laura was running with a cape that had the words “Justice for Jeff” in big letters and “I’m Running For My Husband Because He Can’t,” while Lori carried a sign with a similar message and photos of the couple on mountain-climbing adventures, at the previous year’s Stars and Strides and in Jeff’s hospital room.

Jeff Garmany was struck by a hit-and-run driver while he was riding his motorcycle on Fruitdale Avenue in San Jose on June 9, 2025 — just weeks before last year’s race. He was initially paralyzed and was hospitalized at Valley Medical Center while last year’s run was taking place in downtown San Jose.

Following a year of rehabilitation, he’s planning to participate in this year’s sixth annual race in the wheelchair division. Coincidentally, the 5K/10K run, sponsored by Bloom Energy and Tarana Wireless, raises money for the Valley Health Foundation, which supports Santa Clara County’s four public hospitals, including VMC. San Jose Water, Garmany’s employer before he was injured, is the title sponsor of the wheelchair division this year.

“People were saying that you’re going to participate, you’re going to run again in the future,” Garmany, who was rehabbing in Utah this week, said in a video produced for the Valley Health Foundation. “Knowing that Stars and Strides has a group event for the wheelchairs is awesome.”

There’s still time to register for this year’s event — the 5K run/walk, 10K run or Kids Fun Run — or just cheer people on and join in the post-race festival at Discovery Meadow Park. There’ll be live music, food trucks and a special visit by costumed superheroes landing in a Santa Clara County Sheriff’s helicopter.

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As usual, I’ll be out there Saturday morning to help judge the Alaska Airlines costume contest, which starts at 7:15 a.m. at the starting line on Almaden Boulevard (not at the festival stage in Discovery Meadow). The prizes include two round-trip airline tickets  for the winners in the “Best Independence Day” and “Non-Independence Day” categories and a basket of goodies for the best group costume. Get more information at www.starsandstrides.com.

CULTURAL CONNECTION: The creative minds behind Contemporary Asian Theater Scene (CATS) have assembled a stellar group of writers for its third annual AAPI Playwrights Festival at San Jose Stage Company on Saturday night. The playwrights presenting their original, short works are Tasi Alabastro, Anne Yumi Kobori, Suhashini Krishnan, Jenny Nguyen Nelson, Aimee Suzara and Phil Wong. The festival is curated by Jeffrey Lo and is directed by Reed Flores and Melissa Mei Jones. It starts at 7:30 p.m., and you can get tickets at www.catsasiantheaterscene.org.

And don’t forget that this is Obon Festival weekend in San Jose’s historic Japantown, with two days of cultural celebration centered around the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin. CATS will be out there Sunday, providing a guided walking tour of Japantown. For all the other fun, check out, sjbetsuin.org/annual_obon_festival.

MEDIA MATTERS: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan is part of a distinguished group — Solomon Tsai, Gerrye Wong, Jason Ting and Claudine Cheng — that is cohosting an event for former KGO-TV anchor Dion Lim and her book, “Amplify: My Fight for Asian America” in Foster City on July 17. The Emmy award-winning journalist wrote the book about her experience reporting on the anti-Asian hate crisis that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 5 p.m. dinner, followed by a meet-and-greet book signing, will take place at the Foster City Crowne Plaza Hotel.

You can get more details, including ticket information, at www.dionlim.com/amplify.

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