Whether you’re a seasoned runner or struggle with lacing your sneakers, there’s something we’ve all got in common: coming together for a good cause.
Run4reef is a world-first charity event aiming to bring thousands of families, runners, and environmentalists from across Australia and New Zealand together. They'll all take part in a range of simultaneous running activities to help raise awareness and funds for preserving The Great Barrier Reef.
It’s all set to kick off on Sunday, October 16, with a kid's fun run, five and 10km all abilities events, and a 10km event with a $1K cash prize for winning male and female runners across 23 locations. To make things interesting, runners across events in Australia and New Zealand can compete with each other using tracked time displayed live on big screens. And, if you’re not keen on running, you can still support the cause by donating online and signing up to be a Reef Fan.
Climate change and rising ocean temperatures have had dire effects on the ecosystem of the reef in recent times, with a whopping half of the reef’s coral lost over the past 30 years. Organisers of Run4reef are on a mission to raise funds to help protect the Reef, with registration fees going towards supporting the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s ‘plant a coral initiative’, WWF-Australia, WWF-NZ and local government organisations.
Great Barrier Reef Foundation Chief Scientist Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg says the time is now to support one of Australia’s biggest environmental crises, “With the health of the world’s largest living ecosystem at stake, the need for climate action has never been more pressing and I can't wait to see thousands of Australians and New Zealanders showing their support for the climate at this year’s run4reef.”
If you register early, you’ll go in the running to win one of many prizes including a complimentary trip to the Great Barrier Reef and a new car.
To register as a runner or Reef Fan, head to the run4reef website.