Why We Do This: event history and hopes for the future . . .

Our hope at Run Tucson is to continue to bring people together to celebrate physical health, mental wellness, and the wonderful community that makes up Tucson and Southern Arizona.

That wasn't the original goal, though.  Indeed, the event traces its root to a date night that Tia and Randy had in Downtown Tucson about 20 years ago.  

Turns out, there was nothing to do in Downtown.  We wandered around and had fun, but everything was sort of sketch and lots of shops were closed.

So decided to throw a party for runners and walkers -- we chose early June as the best time to give folks something to do before the summer heat kicked in.

We got the tagline "Meet Me Downtown" from the late Donavan Durband, who at the time was heading up the Downtown Tucson Partnership from offices in La Placita Village. The idea of a nighttime run came from the old "Scottsdale Run for the Arts 8k."

Thus, we came up with the name for the inaugural event, "Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run for the Fox," raising funds for the Fox Theater and Cinema La Placita.

Anthony Wiggins, at the time the Board President for Greater Tucson Leadership, got us title sponsorship from the Tucson Association of Realtors, and we were off and running!

The first-ever live music was the band "Michael P. Nordberg and the Gullywashers," with runners also enjoying Cirque Roots fire dancers, awards from the Running Shop, and a free showing of Chariots of Fire at the Fox. 

In addition to the Downtown Tucson Partnership, a main Downtown partner was Hotel Congress. That first year, they provided free shrimp ceviche to all finishers, then hosted an after-party on their patio with a band called The Lemon Drops. 

In those early years, runners continuted to enjoy activities such as a live band, fire dancers, and a free movie at the Fox (Chariots of Fire, Saint Ralph, Marathon Man, and Run Fatboy Run). 

Our first t-shirt designs were put together by UA graduate student Stephanie Degner, while local artist Pete Marenfeld came up with the art-deco design that we've used off and on for the past 17 years. The race timer for all 20 years has been Greg Wenneborg, at www.roadrunnerracetiming.com.

Tucson Medical Center has been our title sponsor since 2008, and as more participants joined the fun, we moved to our current location in front of the Children's Museum, using the large park space of Armory Park and the Downtown streets 12th Street, 13th Street, and Sixth Avenue. 

Over the years, the event has raised funds for a variety of local arts and educational entities, including the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, the Tucson Museum of Art, the Tucson Symphony, the Educational Enrichment Foundation, Greater Tucson Leadership, and the Children's Museum.

Ever since the race first began, we realized how such an event can bring people together.  

Our hope is that this event makes our "RRCA Runner-Friendly Community" a better place to live and visit.  We're delighted to be part of Visit Tucson and bring the passion of being a Certified Tourism Ambassador to the event.  

Click here for the BizTucson story about the event and civic leadership