The L-A Trails Bridge Run is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and it’s invited a few friends along for the party.

The Bridge Run, YMCA Fit Fest and Emily’s Run, a function of the Fletcher Foundation, have combined forces to create a 5-kilometer running series in Lewiston-Auburn dubbed the Greater L-A Triple Crown 5K Series.

“It really is about community, and community effort,” Fit Fest Race Director Tish Caldwell said. “As we were trying to operate each race individually, so many of the same faces were there, so many of the same volunteers were there, supporting each other, that we thought why not combine all of our efforts and become a team.”

The schedule for each race also worked in the organizations’ favor. The first, the Fit Fest, is on June 14. Emily’s Run, a race begun in memory of Edward Little graduate Emily Fletcher, is slated for July 26, and the Bridge Run will fire off its starting gun on Aug. 24.

“They all start in different places, and they all run differently,” Bridge Run race director Mike Lecompte said. “The Fit Fest and the Bridge Run are probably the two more similar races, because they do cover some of the same territory, but it has a totally different feel to it because of the starting points.

“Emily’s Run is probably the most challenging of the races,” Lecompte continued. “There’s some grade changes there, but it’s nothing that bad, though.”

The Fit Fest 5K begins and ends at Auburn’s Festival Plaza on Main St., crosses two bridges over the Androscoggin River, and is described as flat and fast.

The Bridge Run begins and ends at the Rollodrome in New Auburn, crosses three different bridges between the two cities and uses river-side trails on both sides of the Androscoggin.

Emily’s Run begins and ends at the track complex at Edward Little High School, and is run along the roads of the Auburn Heights area.

“They’re all different,” Caldwell said. “They each have their own personality, which is really neat.”

Each of the races was self-sustaining, but merging the three just made sense, according to organizers.

“This is going to make the workload manageable,” Lecompte said. “It helps everybody because of the collaboration. We’re sharing a lot of the sponsors. All of the amenities we have, we only have to go out and ask once now, so we’re not hammering the community as much. It’s much more efficient. It just makes so much more sense.”

And while the merger and collaborative effort certainly make fiscal sense, organizers felt that, in the spirit of the founding of Emily’s Run and in the spirit of building community, the merger also reeked of common sense.

“That is the bond, that is the spirit of what this is all about,” Caldwell said. “Emily was a young gal that really impacted this community. We have these two organizations, non-profit organizations, that are surrounding Emily’s Run, that are supporting the memory of this young woman. There’s really a community connection here, and Emily’s Run is the glue.”

There will be a few minor changes for runners on race day, but nothing drastic. This year, each of the races will have a kids’ fun run, sponsored by the Auburn Firefighters. Each finisher in that race will get a medal.

“If you can get kids excited about doing things that are healthy for them, it’s an added bonus,” Lecompte said. “It seemed to be a good fit for all of the races, because it does promote that family atmosphere, as well as getting kids to see that running and walking and being active can be really fun, doing it with other people.”

Also, the sponsors and amenities have been combined for all three races, and there is a larger emphasis this year on inviting walkers.

“This year we really want to welcome walkers,” Caldwell said. “It’s still a race, there’s still going to be that competitive edge, there’s still awards and prizes, but we want people to know that just doing it is a big thing. You don’t have to win, but just completing it, whether you’re walking or running, is great. We’re really looking to promote that wellness aspect.”

The response has been favorable, and the feeling among organizers is positive, for this year and for many to come.

“All of these races are going to continue in the future, because we’re all going to take care of each other,” Caldwell said.