Today we’d like to introduce you to Cari Courtenay-Quirk and Karen Lupton.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cari and Karen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The Chamblee Fun Mud Run was established in 2015 as a unique, family-friendly community event and fundraiser for the Chamblee Middle School Education Foundation. It has been 100% volunteer-run and 100% of the proceeds directly benefit educational excellence at Chamblee Middle School. As the largest single fundraiser for the Chamblee Middle School, it raised over $100,000 in its first three years. We are proud to have grown in those few years from about 800 participants to over 1300, and this year we’re hoping to draw even more participants from around the Atlanta area.
One of the most unique aspects of this race is that it is tailored to be a fun event for younger and more novice runners. This event has become one of the best Atlanta has to offer for elementary and middle school-aged kids. Nicholas (7th Grader at CMS) says, “It’s the best race I’ve ever been in!” and Cassidy (4th grader, Montgomery elementary) says, “You get muddy and then you get sprayed with a hose by a Fire Fighter, and I like to see people fall in the mud and their face gets all muddy!” Says Madeleine (8th-grader at CMS), “I love that the Mud Run gives you a chance to do something that’s so much fun that also raises money for my school!”
The Chamblee Fun Mud Run is open to the community and is recommended for children ages 8 and up, as well as older kids, teens and adults of all abilities. The full (2.5 miles) course winds through the Keswick Village and Sexton Woods neighborhoods as participants complete multiple obstacles that involve simple challenges. It is a timed event, with prizes for age/gender and overall winners. There is a shorter (1.25 mile) Muddy Buddy race immediately following the Chamblee Fun Mud Run, recommended for kids ages 5-7 who are accompanied by adults. Participants can opt to complete the obstacles and run a shorter course. The Muddy Buddy is not a timed event.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the most difficult challenges along the way has been maintaining the necessary volunteer resources from one year to the next to host a fun, well-organized, successful event. We’re very fortunate to have wonderful partners at City of Chamblee who have helped us navigate all the logistical details, and the continuing financial support from our Presenting Sponsor, Ed Voyles Automotive gives us a great start each year to build on for our sponsorship efforts.
However, as children graduate from the middle school to the high school, parent volunteers who implement all the event planning inevitably move along with them! Having good records of all our processes and a transition plan for key roles each year is really critical to ensuring that the event keeps moving forward and keeps growing.
Each year, we’ve also hosted a Food Truck Night the evening before the event at Keswick Park. One year, we had one of the 4 scheduled trucks cancel at the last minute, and another truck showed up nearly two hours late! The lines got a little long for the ones that showed up. We’ve learned that starting early with planning, and finding reliable partners to work with from one year to the next, is also really key!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Chamblee Fun Mud Run – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
As the largest fundraising event sponsored by the Chamblee Middle School Education Foundation (CMSEF), we’re really proud that all proceeds feed directly back into school-based investments. Some examples of how the Chamblee Fun Mud Run monies have been used by the CMSEF to support students and teachers include:
• A pilot 21st Century Classroom, equipped with iPads and rolling whiteboards and tables for flexible working spaces and groups
• iReady, an individualized curriculum software platform in reading and math for supplemental student support
• After-school tutoring for Georgia Milestones testing preparation
• New technology including a combination of 50 laptops, iPads and Chromebooks for classroom use
• Additional Media Center PC workstations
• Math Lab PC workstations
• iPads for ESL translation support
• Science lab supplies (1000 frogs for dissection)
• Visual Arts class supplies and printmaking press
• Supplemental science books for 8th-grade classes
• Podium for speaking/debate classes
• ELA news subscription tailored to students’ reading levels
• Conferences and training for teachers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), foreign languages, and yearbook production
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We’re hoping to become an event that will be seen as a local institution and continue to have a presence for years to come. We are part of an exciting, growing community in the Brookhaven/Chamblee area, so we already have amazing support from our local families, neighbors, and the business community.
The biggest change we’re hoping for is to become more broadly known in the wider Atlanta area as one of the most fun, family-friendly events of the year. With that visibility, we’d love to attract families from all over the region and grow to a point where we can’t get any bigger. We’re getting closer every year, but we’re not there yet!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3601 Sexton Woods Drive Chamblee GA 30341
- Website: http://chambleefunmudrun.com/
- Phone: 678-874-8202
- Email: chambleefunmudrun@gmail.com
- Instagram: @chambleefunmudrun
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/chambleefunmudrun
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/chambleefunmud
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