Right now, I’m getting ready for the Spay Pride Parade and Walkathon. This is a chip-timed event for the runners in your family, and the best thing about it is that it benefits animals. Not only that, but you can bring your dog along for some moral support or just for a nice walk. This is a track and Field USA Sanctioned event which I don’t really understand but I can assume it’s important.
The goal of this event is to encourage you to spay/neuter, adopt and foster animals. Those of you who know me, understand how critically important animals are in my life and why I’m such a big advocate of animal rescue. My website, PetsWeekly.com, is a media sponsor of this event and we’ll be there with a big booth, lots of free samples, plenty of great deals and the newest products for animals.
I really hope you’ll swing by and say hi. I’m going to be selling and signing books as well, and my royalties for that day will be headed straight into the fund of Panacea Animal Wellness Sanctuary, a group that is very committed to animal rescue and humane education in Arizona.
So come on down, say hi to us and all of the other vendors, and get your dogs out for a nice day in the beautiful Arizona sun. It’s going to be a lot of fun, with food, and lots of four-legged fun!
Here is a look at what you can expect at this event:
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Kiwanis Park
6111 South All-America Way
Tempe, AZ 85283
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Come out and join Spay Pride 5K for a fun-filled, dog-friendly 5k! The event is open to the public: men, women, children and well-behaved dogs of all ages and fitness-levels are welcome. Whether this is your first 5k or your 100th you will have a blast at this unique and inspirational event. The event features event shirts for you and bandanas for the pups (for the first 300 registered participants), chip timing for the 5k, awards for the top male and female finishers, a single-loop, flat, fast course! There will also be music, food, demonstrations from the Phoenix Area Disc Dogs, Tempe K-9 Unit, and Spring (the only ATF-certified dog in the State of Arizona) will be giving an accelerant-sniffing demonstration.
Schedule:
Friday January 24th, 2014
4:00 p.m – 7:00 p.m. Packet Pickup at Tempe Sole Sports
Saturday January 25th, 2014
7:00 a.m. Packet pick-up / Registration Opens, Expo Opens
7:40 a.m. Phoenix Area Disc Dogs Demonstration
8:10 a.m. Gilbert Fire Department ATF Dog Demonstration
8:45 a.m. Durapulse Warm-Up Session
9:00 a.m. 5k Start
9:45 a.m. Awards for Top Male and Female Finishers (with or without dogs)
10:00 a.m. Tempe Police Department K-9 Demonstration
10:30 a.m. Silent Auction closes – all bids must be placed by this time!
10:30 a.m. Raffle Drawing
11:30 a.m. Expo Closes
Support Panacea Animal Wellness Sanctuary
By participating in the Spay Pride Parade 5k you will help save animals from euthanasia and help promote spaying and neutering for a healthy pet population! 100% of the race proceeds go directly to Panacea Animal Wellness Sanctuary (PAWSaz) whose mission is to save animals from euthanasia. PAWSaz has saved over 850 animals to date!
Registration: Register early and save! $25 through September 15th / $30 through November 15th / $35 through race day. Online registration closes January 24th, but same day registration is available the morning of the race. Includes race entry, event shirt for you and banadana for your dog (t-shirt, race bag and bandana for the first 300 registered participants) and other giveaways and goodies in your race bag. Although the 5k is timed, those who are interested in more of a fun run/walk are welcome and encouraged to participate as well.
Sleep-In for the Cause! Not a morning person or can’t attend the event, but still want to support PAWSaz? Make a donation instead. Your entire contribution will go directly to the PAWSaz and are tax deductible as we are a 501(c)3 non-profit charity.
Dogs On Loan: More details to come, we will try to organize a Dogs On Loan program for runners or walkers without dogs who are interested in pairing up with a shelter or rescue dog for the race.
Location: The staging area will be located on the south soccer fields adjacent to the southern park entrance at Guadalupe Road and All-America Way. Parking is available throughout the park and adjacent to the park. We expect a large crowd so we recommend that you arrive early and carpool to secure a spot.
Rain/Weather Policy: Spectators’ and participants’ safety is top priority for race officials and the Spay Pride 5K. This event will take place rain or shine. We will closely monitor the weather forecast for race weekend, but due to changing weather conditions and predictions, we may not be able to make a final decision regarding the race until Saturday morning. If dangerous weather conditions require that the race be forced to cancel for safety reasons: email notifications will be sent to all participants, coaches will be notified and updates will also be posted on our Facebook Page. There is no rain date and no refunds.
Awards: Overall awards will be store gift certificates from your favorite running stores as well as gift baskets filled with items from our amazing sponsors. A big thanks to these award sponsors.
Silent Auction and Raffle: Be sure to bring your wallet if you want to be able to bid on items in the silent auction! You won’t want to miss out on sports event tickets, autographed items, spa baskets, gift cards, jewelry, unique apparel, store gift certificates and more.
Merchandise: There will be a Spay Pride 5K/Panacea Animal Wellness Sanctuary Merchandise Tent with gear for sale.
Packet Pick-Up: All pre-registered participants can pick up their race packets on Friday, January 24th at Tempe Sole Sports from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. or on race day in the expo area. Registration for the 5k will also be available at Tempe Sole Sports on the 24th.
Will this be your first time at a 5k? Be sure to check out our overview of Race Etiquette for First Timers!
Volunteer: We will need a lot of volunteers to make the event a success! Please contact the race organizer to volunteer.
Sponsors:
We are still accepting additional sponsors for the upcoming event and would love to establish new partnerships!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Runners AND Walkers are welcome in this event. Strollers are permitted – we just ask that you please line up in back at the start for safety reasons. Also, part of the route does go on the canal meaning that jogging strollers made to handle this type of terrain tend to work better. All registrations are non-refundable and non-transferable.
