The 2nd Annual Discover Whitewater Series event, held Sept. 21 and featuring a Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, 5K and Fit Kid Shuffle events brought 723 participants and more than 450 volunteers together for a good cause. As a result, $26,000 was distributed to five local charities.
At the banquet, held Oct. 30, Larry Kachel, Greater Whitewater Committee chairman praised the involvement of the entire community.
“The city, school district, university and business community really came together to make this second year a true success,” Kachel said.
Jeff Knight, president and CEO of the committee, emceed the event and presented plaques to the sponsors and a total of $26,000 in checks to the charity partners – Bethel House, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Athletics, W3 (Working for Whitewater’s Wellness,) Whitewater Unified School District and the Whitewater Aquatic & Fitness Center.
“Our charity partners provided much needed support and volunteers to help ensure this event’s success,” Knight said. “The Whitewater community really rallied around this event and made it special for all those in attendance.”
Overall reviews of the event according to committee members, have been outstanding. A survey of 199 race participants, completed by Andrea Ednie, shared the comments from one runner.
“This is definitely the best HM I’ve ever ran. Actually, it’s the best race I’ve ran, regardless of distance. The course is so well done, it’s well marked, the volunteers are incredible, everyone at Run Whitewater is incredibly accommodating and truly cares about racers, and the list goes on and on. I cannot say enough about this event,” Barbara S., a runner stated.
This year’s event featured additional runners and a few new things were added to make the event more appealing and memorable to participants. In addition to a free, pre-race meal and race day pancake breakfast, an enhanced post race celebration was held near the finish line, featuring a live band, free beer samples from Randy’s Fun Hunters Brewery and Restaurant, free wine samples from Staller Estate Winery, food, and a climbing wall and obstacle course with the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
One of the new features of this event was the Kids Korral, a combined effort of DWS and UW-Whitewater’s College of Education & Professional Studies. The Korral offered free childcare services to registered participants with a total of 33 kids spending time there during the event.
Assistant Race and Marketing Director Traci Wilson expressed gratitude to all involved.
“I am really grateful to have been able to work with all the amazing people on the committee and in the community,” Wilson said. “We would not have been able to put on this event without all of you.”
Next year’s Discover Whitewater Series event will be held on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. For more information or to volunteer, contact Wilson or Anna Schwarz, director of operations, at (920) 397-0601 or by email at info@runwhitewater.com.
