Wild Tomorrow is proud and excited for our team of 15 charity runners who are ready to run this year’s United NYC Half on Sunday! Read more below in our latest blog post about some of our amazing runners and why they’ve dedicated their race to helping elephants and other threatened species. Go Team Elephant!

African elephant in motion leaving a water hole. Photo Credit: Simone Sbaraglia/Wildscreen Exchange

Wild Tomorrow Fund’s “Team Elephant” is ready to run this Sunday!

We are incredibly proud and excited to have our fifth annual team of 15 runners in this years’ United NYC Half marathon. As an official charity runner in the race, each team member must raise $1,000 to help us protect wildlife and wild places in southern Africa. Together, the team of 15 runners have already raised over $16,000 for wildlife! Head to our team page here to donate in support of their run, and help them stampede this Sunday towards the finish line!

Today, 1 million plants and animals face extinction -many in the next decade -unless we take urgent action. Our runners have dedicated their run to personally fighting back against the loss of our planet’s precious wildlife and wild places in southern Africa.

Here are some of their stories.

*Susan Pass with rescued Asian elephants at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai Thailand. She’s running in the 2021 TCS NYC Marathon for their wild relatives, African Savanna Elephants.*

For Susan Pass, a nurse anesthetist living in New York city, her run is dedicated to her favorite animal, the elephant. “Ever since I can remember, elephants have been my favorite animal. I love how resilient they are, the endurance they have to walk miles and miles for food and water, that the leader of the herd is a matriarch who will kick out teenage male elephants because they're a little too unruly for the herd, how cute a baby elephant is as it learns to use its trunk, and how dedicated they are to their family and herd. They are truly gentle giants, and it saddens me that anyone would want to hurt these amazing creatures.”

It’s not Susan’s first time running marathon - it’s her 19th! She’s also run for elephants in London for a 5km race dressed as an elephant for the David Sheldrick Trust in Kenya, and volunteered at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai. Each time she visits elephants around the world, she brings her stuffed elephant travel companion “Gatsby” with her, a symbol of her love for his real world equivalents. We know Gatsby will be cheering from the sidelines tomorrow!

*Gatsby the well-travelled stuffed toy elephant will help cheer Susan and all our runners tomorrow!*

New Yorker Robin Ross has always loved wild animals. When she was only 6, she asked her friends to donate to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) instead of new toys - that was the first time she took personal action on behalf of wild friends, and a passion that continues with her run tomorrow.

*Korin poses with a meerkat in one of her many trips to Africa, sharing her passion for wildlife. She’s also a big fan of our Ambassador, wildlife photographer and cinematographer Shannon Wild.*

For runner Korin DeAcetis from Brookhaven New York, African wildlife is already a part of her daily life thanks to her work with Hippo Creek Safaris, a travel company that designs personalized safari trips to Africa. She has a deep passion and love for the wildlife of Africa which she infuses in her work wth her safari-loving clients who are supporting her in her marathon run for Wild Tomorrow Fund.

Emma Sutton-Williams, usually a New Yorker but currently based in Detroit, is like many of us, an all-around animal lover. “I absolutely love zebras” said Emma, “but I also have a very soft spot for elephants. Basically, ALL animals have stolen my heart.” She believes that this love for animals means we have a responsibility to protect them and their environment.

A recent transplant from the West Coast to NYC, Alex Haimerl, is running for his sister, our very own Volunteer Coordinator and Project Manager in South Africa, Tori Gray. It’s his second marathon after running is first in LA. What better reason to run than to support your little sister’s passion, saving African wildlife. Tori won’t be here to cheer him on in person as she’s on the ground at our reserve with our conservation volunteers. But we know Alex and his family will be some of the loudest cheerers in the city!

Three dedicated runners in our team this year were sponsored by Tinicum, a private investment company headquartered New York. Partner Robert Kelly has been a support of Wild Tomorrow Fund since 2017 together with the Chairman of our US Board, Seth Hendon. Tinicum runner, Christopher Shin, loves spending time in the outdoors, and said “running to preserve the outdoors and its biodiversity for future generations is a no-brainer. And of course, running with my colleague, Jared Lee, will make it even more enjoyable.” Go Tinicum team!

Julia Smith is a talented broadway actress who chose to run for Wild Tomorrow Fund after a visit to South Africa on safari a few years ago changed her life. “I believe that conservation of the environment and the fight against climate change and manmade destruction is the most important fight of our time,” said Julia. “I am in awe of your work and would be honored to be a part of your efforts.” We can’t wait to see her in the marathon tomorrow, and back on stage next year with the return of Broadway and a new musical she’ll be starring in, Almost Famous!

*Julia Smith on a training run in Central Park with her Wild Tomorrow Fund cap!*

Stefan Walz is completing his PhD in economics at Columbia University. He is running a marathon for the first time and excited to be able to run for wildlife after the race was cancelled last year. ”I strongly believe in our responsibility as stewards for our environment, especially in times like these” said Stefan when he applied for a spot on the 2020 team, with his race deferred due to the pandemic. “Having spent my first few years in across Botswana and Malawi as my parents worked in the development community, I have some fleeting memories of the wonder of the regional wildlife. I was actively looking for a way to give back”.

*Jon Lopez is ready to run for wildlife in the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon*

Jon Lopez is a seasoned marathon runner, and this year chose Wild Tomorrow Fund and wildlife as his running cause. “I understand the importance of land conservation, and the progress your organization has made in protecting endangered wildlife has been impactful. I am excited about the possibility of playing a small role in helping advance your mission.” Thank you Jon!

Since its inception in 2006, the TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Partner Program has raised more than $350 million for more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations across the globe. “Supporting charitable causes and organizations are a long-standing tradition of the TCS New York City Marathon as it serves as one of the world’s largest fundraising platforms,” said Christine Burke, Senior VP of Strategic Partnerships, NYRR. “The marathon exemplifies the running community’s spirit of giving back, and no group demonstrates that more than the thousands who choose to run for charity. We are proud to support the efforts of the Wild Tomorrow Fund team and the positive impact they have made to their community.”

Thank you to our incredible team of runners. We look forward to cheering them on this year as they run like cheetahs, clocking marathon miles to help save wildlife and wild spaces in southern Africa.

#runfortheirlives #wildtomorrow #TCSNYCMarathon #NYMarathon #wildtomorrow

TEAM ELEPHANT IS READY FOR THE UNITED NYC HALF