33rd Run for the Zoo is nearly sold out
Sunday’s race could offer a peek at zoo’s newest addition
During a one-mile stretch of Sunday’s 33rd annual Run for the Zoo, participants just might see the soon-to-be newest member of Albuquerque’s zoo.
Along the course, 5-kilometer, 10K and halfmarathon participants are led behind the zoo, where the elephants reside. Rozie the elephant could give birth any day, said Taylor Pellegrini, the Run for the Zoo director who is also the New Mexico BioPark Society events director.
“Runners will be able to see the pregnant momma and/or the baby,” Pellegrini said on Wednesday.
Rozie and her baby are big reasons people keep coming to support the Run for the Zoo, as the money raised benefits the zoo.
“There are a ton of races in New Mexico, but what sets us apart is that the zoo is loved here,” Pellegrini said. “It’s a great day for the family, and after the event they get to come back (the same day) and go in to the zoo for free. People always want to run for a cause, and this is the best one there is.”
This year’s event is nearly sold out; there are only a couple spots open for the half-marathon,
which is capped at 1,000 competitors. The 10K timed adult division had 180 spots open on Wednesday. The overall cap for the Run for the Zoo is 12,000.
The event did not sell out last year.
“Last year’s (Albuquerque Rapid Transit) construction put a damper on people coming out to the event,” said Pellegrini, who is in her fourth year as the director of the event. “Now that it’s easier to get here, we should see the upswing again.”
A new feature for the event will comfort timed racers. The competitors will receive free dry-fit shirts. The event’s artwork, penguins in the Run for the Zoo, will be prominent on the shirts.
Dylan Zinn, an 18-year-old docent, created the art. The penguins are due in the zoo in November, Pellegrini said, so that seemed to be a timely theme for this year’s event.
The penguins are also featured on the medals for agedivision winners.
Online registration is closed. Sunday registration, an extra $5 added to the original prices, will begin at 6:30 a.m., as the half-marathon starts at 7. Original entry fees vary for each race: half-marathon ($60), 10K timed adult ($50), 10K timed youth for ages 3-13 ($30), 5K timed adult ($45), 5K timed youth for ages 3-13 ($30), 5K fit run/walk adult untimed ($32), 5K fitness youth ($17), 1-mile fun run adult ($32), 1-mile fun run youth ($17).
Registered runners can pick up their event packet Saturday at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, where registration is also available if there are openings.