It is with great sadness that we must make the announcement to remove our Run into the Wild Running Festival from our 2026 events lineup. We know this may be met with great surprise and disappointment as thousands of you have participated in this annual festival. ​

 

Please know we did not reach this difficult decision lightly. ​

 

In full transparency, the Run requires many, many hours and months of preparation from our staff and volunteers to bring it to fruition. We, of course, have happily risen to meet that challenge every year. However, when we evaluate the numbers, we have struggled ever since COVID made such a huge impact on our ability to garner resources - as well as having enough participants to make ends meet. ​

 

With rising inflation and impacts from tariffs, the end result has this single event taking more from the organization rather than giving back to the animals that it is supposed to support. In other words, while the Run has always held a special place in our hearts as our biggest event by far, it's also by far the most expensive to produce and has just become exceedingly cost prohibitive to continue. ​

 

We share your heartbreak in having to reach this conclusion. We will truly miss all of the eager faces joining the "Starting Line" in their snazzy, custom TWAS racing shirts. There's truly nothing quite like the electric atmosphere of everyone coming together on those special June mornings. Through this chapter of the Sanctuary's event roster must go on hiatus for now, it is a piece of our history that we will continue to cherish for a long time to come. ​

 

Our 2026 edition of the Sanctuary calendar still includes June 6th as the date of the Run, so if you have one of these calendars in your possession, please make note of its cancellation. ​

 

We again sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We wholeheartedly want to thank all of the Run/Walk participants across its many years here, as you made it a joyous day for everyone was fortunate enough to attend!

 

For questions or information pertaining to other 2026 events, please contact our Development Staff at 303-536-0118 ext. 2248 or email our Development Department here.​

 

Sincerely, 

The Wild Animal Sanctuary Staff