2024 FAQ
Q: I'm new to this sort of thing. What is the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown?
A: GZTC is a charity-based, three-event run/walk series that includes running and walking events in three unique Tucson locations. The goal is to honor the late Gabe Zimmerman by promoting year-round fitness, enabling people to train for and complete by walking or running events that include 1 mile, 5k, 10k, and farther.
Q: What is the charity involved?
A: Each race has its own charity beneficiaries including the Children's Museum, Team Hoyt, Greater Tucson Leadership, and Step Up to Justice. The Triple Crown beneficiary is the BEYOND Foundation, receiving $10 of every race entry.
Q: In years past, Triple Crown participants have received sandstone candles, Ben's Bells, medallion sets, and desktop medals. What are the awards this year?
A: In 2024, we've put together a three-piece medal set. All Triple Crown participants receive the first medal (pictured here) during the TMC Meet Me Downtown weekend, then you can snag the other medals when you finish the TMC Tucson 10k and the TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon and 4-Miler
Q: Back up a second -- what are the three events, when do they take place, and what goodies do I get?
A: Here's what you get:
* Registration to the Saturday night, June 1st TMC Meet Me Downtown 5k Run/Walk and 1-Mile, including souvenir race shirt
* Registration to the Sunday morning, September 8th TMC Tucson 10k and 5k, including souvenir race shirt and finisher's medal
* Registration to the Sunday morning October 20th TMC A-Mountain Half-Marathon and 4-Miler including souvenir race shirt and finisher's medal
* The unique 2024 Run Tucson Triple Crown t-shirt
* The 2024 Gabe Zimmerman commemorative medallion (pictured here)
Q: Do I have to run, or can I walk?
A: You can run or walk and you can hike, race or stroll, the goal is simply to be outside and be moving!
Q: I normally just walk at Meet Me at Maynard's -- do I have to be competitive to do this stuff?
A: NOPE!! The idea is to honor Gabe and celebrate Tucson by having fun exercising -- so come on out and walk or run as fast or slow as you want!
Q: What if I want to change my chosen race distance for one of the events?
A: You can simply change your GZTC registration information through your RunSignup registration platform, or email us at randy@runtucson.net to modify the distance.
Q: What if I cannot be in Tucson for any of those dates? Am I out of luck or can I do the Virtual Triple Crown?
A: Over the years we've found that many people wanted to do the series but could not attend every race, so we created a Virtual Triple Crown.
You can do one, two, or all of the races Virtually and still receive all the great Triple Crown stuff.
Q: Getting back to the Virtual Triple Crown, if I do a race virtually, how will I get my medals and shirts? Do I have to pay extra to have them mailed?
A: For those who live outside the general Tucson area, we will mail your race materials.
For those in the greater Tucson region (Tucson, Oro Valley, Marana, Vail, etc), we will bring the race goodies to The Running Shop at 3055 North Campbell in central Tucson and have them there for you to pick up until one month after the event. We cannot mail race goodies to locals in the Tucson region -- please note that you will have to pick up all race items within one month after each event.
Q: If I signed up for the regular Triple Crown but now want to do any of the races virtually, what should I do?
A: You can go into your own RunSignUp registration portal and modify your registration - or you can email us at randy@runtucson.net and we'll modify it for you. We cannot mail race goodies to locals in the greater Tucson region -- please note that you will have to pick up all race items within one month after each event.
Q: What happens if you cancel any of the races - will we get our money back?
A: All races take place rain or shine, but in the event of an emergency cancellation determined by the City of Tucson, Pima County, or some other governmental entity, we will fall back on the Virtual Triple Crown - and everyone will then be able to receive their specific race awards following the rules of the Virtual Triple Crown. Of course, we will communicate regularly in this event.
Q: I signed up but now do not want to do it. Can I have my money back or transfer my entry to someone else?
A: There are no refunds and no transfers to other people. However, you are always welcome to shift your entry to the Virtual category and do the event distance at a different time or volunteer on race day. All Tucson-area participants can pick up their shirts/medals at packet pickup on race weekend or in the weeks immediately afterwards at The Running Shop.
Q: For those of us new to Tucson or from out of town, can you tell us about Gabe Zimmerman?
A: Gabe Zimmerman was only 30 years old when he lost his life in the January 2011 shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords here in Tucson.
Others killed by gun violence that day include Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy "Dot" Morris, Judge John Roll, Phyllis Scheck, and Dorwin Stoddard.
Gabe was murdered doing what he was best at: supporting his community, trying to make it a better place for everyone, regardless of their politics or their backgrounds. From the Gabe Zimmerman Davison Canyon Trailhead to the Gabe Zimmerman Meeting Room at the U.S. Capital, Gabe's presence will forever be a part of our community. We are grateful to Ross Zimmerman and Julia Strange at Tucson Medical Center for developing the concept of the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown. Gabe's whole family has been devoted to fitness, running, and the Arizona outdoors, and we are honored to be able to celebrate the spirit of Gabe and highlight the possibilities for our community through the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown.
Our goal is to celebrate Gabe and motivate the community to aspire to individual and collective greatness - to work alone and work with others towards those goals we find valuable. To celebrate living, community, and good will. To live with love, to live with passion, to chase dreams. As we all know, running shows us the power within ourselves. If we can go three miles in a hot summer night or slog our way up and down the hills of the Tucson mountains, the ups and downs of daily life are certainly manageable and we can rise to our other challenges.
Special thanks to the thanks to the 6,500+ registrations that have been part of the Triple Crown these past few years!!
Q: Who are the sponsors?
A: Tucson Medical Center provides the sponsorship and support for the series. We are grateful to Julia Strange and the whole TMC community for working with us to develop the series. And teal is the color of TMC so we're honoring them!
Special thanks to the local running specialty store, The Running Shop, for hosting the Virtual Triple Crown goodie-bag pickup.
