The Buddy Run

There are hungry children in our community.  That's not ok. Do Something...

"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, Saturday, September 18, 2010 in Wake Forest, NC

The Buddy Run is a USA Track & Field (USATF) certified & chip-timed 5K run with a non-competitive 1mile family walk as well as an itty-bitty-buddy dash for our 6 and under runners.

This race benefits local Backpack Buddy 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.

Rebecca Warriner, will be your friendly Race Director for the 5K and 1mile routes. Her daughter, Polly (age 6) and wanted to do something big to help the Backpack Buddies so she will be helping with the Race Director job for the itty-bitty-buddy dash.

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 will be able to donate 75% of our registration fee to The Backpack Buddies!

Registration & Packet Pickup

The best way to to register is online at www.fsseries.com/buddyrun.  Online registration closes on Thursday, September 15.

If you prefer to register on-site you can find us on Friday, September 17 from 4pm-6pm in front of the Goddard School on Rogers Road in Heritage Wake Forest.

On Saturday, September 18 from 6:45am-7:45am we will be in the parking lot near the run start, behind Ads-n-Art on Heritage Lake Road just north of Rogers Road.  Online directions

REMEMBER:  T-shirts are only guaranteed to the first 250 adults and the first 100 children.  I do order extras but they are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Start Times & Fees

  • 5K begins promptly at 8am
  •  1-mile Family Walk starts 9am, or as soon as everyone is done with the 5K course
  • The Itty Bitty Buddy Dash begins immediately following the 1-mile Family walk

Your race fees are going primarily to the charity.  Thanks to our wonderful sponsors around $5 of each registration fee is being used to cover race expenses - the rest is going to The Backpack Buddies in the form of Lowe's Foods gift cards.. 

   On-line by
Sept. 15		 On-Site Registration
Sept. 17, Sept. 19
5K Chip-timed Run  $20  $25
1-Mile Family Walk $10 $12

Parking

You may park all along Heritage Lake Road.  There is a large parking lot at the Smith Creek Soccer Center approximately .5 miles north of the Rogers Road/Heritage Lake Road intersection.

Race-Day Food Drive

The day of the race we will be collecting food items to deliver to The Backpack Buddies. 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 because they give us a 6% discount on the gift cards we purchase so we can stretch the dollars even more! 

Course Maps & Turns

USATF certified course map

  • Begin behind Walgreens on Thompson
  • Thompson through the round-about to Heritage Links
  • Heritage Links (past Eppes)
  • L on Dunn Maple
  • L on Marshall Farm
  • L on Hartsfield Forest
  • U-turn at Heritage Club & Hartsfield Forest - AID STATION
  • R on Marshall Farm
  • R on Dunn Maple
  • R on Heritage Links
  • Through the round-about and Right on Thompson to finish line