The Waldo Waldo 5K was an annual five kilometer walk/run hosted in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. Participants dressed in

Where's Waldo ''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicti ...

costumes included with the price of admission, with raised funds going towards "Waldo Canyon restoration, disaster relief, fire recovery, outdoor activities and trails and open space maintenance in the local community."

History

The race was founded by Chelise Foster in 2012 as a response to the Waldo Canyon Wildfire. According to a Q&A with Foster, it was originally meant to be a small gathering of volunteers that would dress up in Where's Waldo costumes to clean up the Waldo Canyon, but instead became a fundraiser to help offset the financial burden following the disaster. Foster was an elope, Inc. employee at the time, and the company agreed to provide

Waldo Waldo may refer to: People * Waldo (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Waldo (surname), a list of people * Waldo (footballer) (1934-2019), full name Waldo Machado da Silva, Brazilian footballer Places Canada * Waldo, ...

and Wenda costumes at a discount for the event, and has been the presenting sponsor since. The inaugural race at the America the Beautiful Park included over 1,000 participants, and raised approximately $20,000 for the Waldo Canyon Firefighter Relief Fund. The seventh and final race, the Waldo Waldo 5K Grand Finale, was held on October 20, 2018.

Event

In subsequent iterations, the Waldo Waldo 5K split raised funds between the Trails and Open Space Coalition and the

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. Since 2012, event organizers attempted to break the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for "Largest gathering of people dressed as Wally/Waldo" with no success. In an interview with Fox 21 News during the 2014 5K, Foster stated,"We have about 3,200 this year. But the world record has always been secondary. If we get the world record that’s great, but it’s really just a fun way to get people out here." Before 2014, the 5K ran through the America the Beautiful Park. It now begins and ends at the

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in central Downtown Colorado Springs. Recent events have included

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classes,

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s, and exhibitors before and after the event. Live music and a beer garden were added at the 2015 race.

Reception

The event generally received favorable views from participants and spectators. Several runners at the 2015 event described it as a "fun experience" and "a symbol of teamwork and unification." In 2014, the ''

Colorado Springs Independent The ''Colorado Springs Independent'' (commonly referred to as ''The Independent'' or simply ''The Indy'') is a newsweekly that serves the Pikes Peak region of Southern Colorado (El Paso, Teller, and Pueblo counties). It is Colorado Springs's large ...

'' gave the Waldo Waldo 5K a rank of silver in the "Best Fundraising Event" category.

Participation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldo Waldo 5K Running in the United States Challenge walks Sports competitions in Colorado Springs, Colorado Where's Wally?