28th Annual Run for the Turtles to Benefit Endangered Species
Make great strides for endangered species during Mote’s 28th Annual Run for the Turtles this Saturday, April 5.
The Run, which includes a 5K sanctioned by the Manasota Track Club and a 1-mile fun-run/walk, has provided major support for Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program — an internationally recognized program that will soon begin its 33rd year coordinating sea turtle conservation along 35 miles of Sarasota County beaches.
You can register online atwww.active.com. Participants can also register on-site starting at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, April 5 at the Siesta Key gazebo south of the pavilion. (Full details below.)
All sea turtle species are considered threatened or endangered under federal law. Mote’s monitoring efforts provide crucial information to help resource managers protect these ancient reptiles, and Run for the Turtles helps to support these efforts.
Mote scientists, interns and more than 250 volunteers in Mote’s Sea Turtle Patrol monitor local sea turtle nesting each day during nesting season, May 1 through Oct. 31, on beaches from Longboat Key through Venice. Mote scientists have also tagged many nesting sea turtles for identification and used state-of-the-art satellite tracking systems to follow the turtles as they swim hundreds of miles in the sea.
Run for the Turtles has succeeded through a partnership between Mote, Sarasota County Parks and Recreation and the nonprofit Manasota Track Club, which has sanctioned the Run from the start.
Once again, 5K runners will have their race times automatically captured through a chip-timing system at the finish line.
Mote thanks our sponsors for this year’s Run: Brighthouse Networks, ABC 7, SNN Local News 6, Mote Scientific Foundation, New Balance, Koala Tee, Kumar and Linda Mahadevan, IBC Insurance Consultants, Westbridge Veterinary Clinic and Ignite 360 Fitness.
If You Go:
- Date: Saturday, April 5, 2014
- Times: Race-day registration begins at 6:30 a.m., followed by a 1-mile fun run/walk at 7:30 a.m. and the 5K run at 8 a.m.
- Place: Siesta Public Beach, 948 Beach Road, Siesta Key (registration at the gazebo south of the pavilion)
- Awards: Prizes will be given to overall male and female winners in each event. Awards for the 5K will also be given to winners in specific categories, including age groups from 9 and younger to 85 and older and Master categories.
- Register at www.active.com through March 30. Pre-registered runners can pick up their race packets early at the New Balance University Park store between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. April 4.
- Registration fees: Adults: $35. Children 10 and younger: $25.
- Information: Contact Paula Clark at 941-388-4441, ext. 357, or pclark@mote.org.