Buddy Run 5K
Run. Donate. Smile.
"The food and gift cards from the run have been so helpful to our program.
The gift cards have been a lifeline when we needed to shop for a type of food
that donations couldn’t replenish fast enough. This semester we’ve
purchased a lot of individual shelf-stable milk cartons at Lowe’s Foods; we
would not have been able to add this nutritious item to the backpacks without
the gift cards. I know we’ve said “thank you” before, but we can fully
appreciate how much of a difference these donations made now that we see how far
they’ve taken us. So a big “thank you” again! " - Gretchen Solomon, Wake
Forest Elementary
The Buddy Run, 2012 Date TBD
This year our run will be held on a Friday evening and will be a fun event for the whole family! We will have a 2-mile Roller Run, a 1-mile Family Walk, the Itty Bitty Buddy Dash, and the 5K chip-timed run. There will be a bounce house for the kids, Kona Ice will be on hand selling their snow cones, and food will be available for the whole family.
Details
The Buddy Run is a chip-timed 5K run with a non-competitive 2-mile Roller Run and a 1-mile family walk as well the highly popular Itty-Bitty-Buddy dash for our 6 and under runners.
This race benefits local Backpack Buddy & Track-Out Tummies programs; a volunteer-driven organization providing select children in our schools with backpacks of food over a weekend. If not for the Backpack Buddies, many of these children may not have a regular meal outside of school.
This is a great way to get children of every age involved in community service. Every child understands what it feels like to be hungry. Take them to the store and give them $5 to purchase items for the food-drive.
Schedule of Events
- Thursday 15-Sept: 4pm-6pm, packet pickup & on-site registration
- Friday, 16-Sept:
- 4pm - 6pm Packet pickup & registration @ the race start
- 4pm - 8pm Free bounce house to registered families & Kona Ice will be on-hand selling snow cones
- 6pm - 6:30pm 2-mile Roller Run and 1-mile Family Walk (bikes, scooters, & skates allowed)
- 6:30pm - 7:15pm 5K (no wheels except for strollers, please)
- 7:30pm Awards & Post-Race Party
Sponsor Details
All the details about sponsorship are available in the Sponsor Kit. Please review and
contact Rebecca Warriner to get on board!
Sponsors cover almost all of our race costs from the course-certification, t-shirts, timing fees, post-race food and water, signage - everything! It is our hope that we can donate 75% of our registration fee to The Backpack Buddies!
Directions & Parking
Our new course is run mostly on a greeway/trail to reduce the amount of time our athletes spend on the street. This will provide a safer route for everyone!
Parking will be available at the Heritage View Clubhouse at 1037 Marshall Farm in Wake Forest and on the residential streets around the venue.
Race-Day Food Drive
During packet-pickup and on race-day we collect food items for the Backpack Buddies & Track Out Tummies. Items must be non-perishable, easy-to-open, and require no preparation, such as adding water and heating. A list of recommended types of food is below. As a general guideline, if a kindergarten-aged child can open and eat the item on their own, consider that a good donation item.
- applesauce or fruit cups
- granola, breakfast, and snack bars
- cereal cups
- juice boxes/pouches
- individual servings of snack foods (goldfish, crackers)
- pasta cups
- chicken or tuna pouches
- dried fruit
- peanut butter
- pudding cups
- pop-top pasta cups like spaghetti, ravioli
If you aren't able to grocery shop, a gift card to a local grocer is welcome.
We use Lowe's Foods to purchase the gift cards after the race since they give
us a 6% discount on the gift cards we purchase!