We made it! Race weekend starts Saturday, and over both days we are expecting roughly 140 people to take to the streets of Denver wearing all of their bright orange Achievement Challenge gear!
Thanks to each of you for being part of our team and making this our most successful event ever! Together we will challenge perceptions and create new opportunities for people with disabilities.
Dress for the weather!
Despite the generally great spring weather Colorado is known for, we're not going to be seeing much of it this weekend. Once the snow passes on Friday, it's still going to be chilly at City Park on Saturday morning.
Current reports suggest it will be about 35 degrees and sunny when we meet up at 7:30 in the morning, and creeping up to about 45 degrees during the race.
Please dress warmly! Our team shirts are designed to keep you cool on a hot day, so you may want to wear a long sleeve shirt underneath it. And by all means, if you have orange hats, gloves and scarves, please wear them!
I know this is not the weather we hoped for, but we still need everyone to bundle up and show up!
Accessibility Answers
While our presence has improved the race's accessibility, it still take some planning and preparation to make it successful for everyone.
If someone in your group was registered as an athlete with a disability, you should have already received an email from the race's disability liaison. If you didn't get an email, click here for the parking pass and here for the parking map.
Accessible Parking
This year, accessible parking has moved back to the Pavilion on the west side of Ferrill Lake. You must have the permit to park at the Pavilion.
The walk back to The Arc's tent is a good distance. Race organizers are planning to have golf carts available to shuttle people back and forth. If you need this assistance, please contact Vicki at (720) 372-3551 and she will help coordinate.
Unfortunately, the museum is not allowing us to use their lot on Saturday. However, if this poses an issue for you, you can see if the lot monitors at DMNS will let you drop off closer before going over to the Pavilion to park.
Access-A-Ride Drop Off
People arriving on Access-A-Ride should plan to be dropped off at the parking lot elevators behind the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. From there, you should have a clear pathway to our tent. Access-A-Ride will not be able to get back into the park until after the last runner at 11:15, although they could pick up at other points outside the park.
Accessible Restrooms
Due to past issues with racers not being able to use the accessible port-a-potties, the disability services tent will have a separate locked stall available for our use. Be sure to get the code from Vicki before heading over. The Athletes with Disabilities booth is marked with a star on the map.
Help us Fundraise for Advocacy!
We have just a few more days to raise critical funds for The Arc. All dollars raised support free, life-changing advocacy for people with disabilities and their families.
We need your help! Here's what you can do:
- Donate to an existing fundraiser - Click here to view our fundraisers and see what The Arc means to them.
- Share the team page on your Facebook page with a note about your participation, and ask your friends to donate.
- Click Join Now to build a fundraising page of your own in about 5 minutes.
- Send a quick email to your friends and family asking them to donate in your honor.
We have seen time and again how these requests by email and on social media make a big impact -- you will be surprised by the support you receive from your friends and family!
Be sure to thank our sponsors!
We're excited to have the support of PASCO and All for Kids Home Health! With their help, we are able to provide the awesome team shirts free of charge. And new this year, we have team drawstring backpacks to hold all your goodies!
Representatives from both companies will be with us on Saturday (Andrea will be on the course), so please be sure to say thank you!
You can probably skip the Expo
The race organizers are allowing our team to skip the packet pickup at the expo! If you are registered by May 17, we will have your bibs and race shirts waiting for you at The Arc’s team tent on Saturday morning.
If you were registered on or after Wednesday, May 17, you will need to pick up your bib and packet at the Expo or arrive early to pick up at race registration on Saturday morning.
Meet at The Arc's Tent by 730 AM (and prepare for a quick change!)
The Arc will once again have a tent at Charity Partners Village, located in the greenspace west of the Museum of Nature in Science. Our tent will be in Pod A . Just look for the swarm of people in orange. We will have beach balls strung up on our booth to make it easier to find. There are two maps below to help you find us.
You will need to arrive early and get your shirts to be ready for team photos at 8:15 AM. Please note: There is not a private area for changing into team shirts. Some people layer them, some people change in the port-a-potties.
We will arrive by 6:30AM and begin distributing shirts and bibs at 7:00 AM. No matter what, everyone needs to meet at the tent by 7:30 AM. You can arrive as early as you would like, since parking will be easier the earlier you arrive. With such a large team, it's going to take some time to get everyone geared up, plus we have lots of silly accessories to make you stand out!
Team Photo at 8:15 AM
This will be the tricky part. We have 20 minutes to get 115 people assembled for our team photos. As soon as that is done, we will all walk to the starting line together.
But take your own pix too!
Although our photographer will be taking many "official" photos of our participants before, during, and after the race, I want to see your selfies, too!
If you take any photos, please email them to me at genni@arcjc.org or upload them to Facebook and tag The Arc. (If you have any trouble uploading from your device, find Courtney and she will help.)
Race Starts at 9 AM
We will all walk to the starting line together for the family wave of the race. Although there is a separate starting time for Athletes with Disabilities, we are planning to have all of our racers start together with the Achievement Challenge team as part of the family wave.
As we will have someone at the tent at all times, all racers are welcome to leave bags and personal items in our tent while you race.
Contacting Us on Race Day
If you need to reach us for any reason, please contact our new Development Director Vicki Walker at (720) 372-3551.
Race Day Timeline
6:30 AM: The Arc arrives
7:30 AM: Check-in for Shirts & Bibs
8:15 AM: Team photo!
8:45 AM: Head over to new starting line
11:00 AM: Race ends
City Park Map
See below for rough idea of what to expect and how to find us. Just look for people in orange! There is a path from the elevators at DMNS that will be easiest for people using wheelchairs. There will still be some trekking through grassy areas.
