The 1st Annual Run for the Fund on October 2 was a huge success! A committee of representatives from the park met at least once a week for several months to plan the details of the event, and it was incredible to see the results of our hard work on the day of the race.
As you may remember from my last blog post, I am a member of the Run for the Fund committee. Through my involvement with the online registration process and managing the e-mail inbox, I got to know many of the runners before the event even took place. It was so rewarding to actually meet those participants and be there when they completed the race.
As I’ve mentioned before, this run is a truly unique one because we had animal encounter zones stationed along various points of the course. This was a huge hit with both families and runners. We were also fortunate enough to provide complimentary massages at the end of the race thanks to the Hilton Hill Country Windflower Resort and Spa. There was even a Yoga class on the lawn of Shamu Theater!
Now for the good stuff: how did we do?! We had more than 750 10K runners, 5K runners, and Family Fun Walkers participate in the first ever Run for the Fund. Their contributions as well as donations from local partnerships, generated a total contribution of $23,026 to the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. That’s the biggest donation to the Fund any one event in the company has ever made.
For the first year of the event, we couldn’t have asked for anything better. We received such positive feedback from participants and employees on the overall execution of the race. Of course, we’ve learned a few lessons and have come up with some ideas on how to make future races even bigger and better. I’m looking forward to being a part of this incredible event next year, and I hope you are, too.
Blog by KatyJane Lemke
