Runners in the Gazelle Foundation Run For The Water 5K and 10-Miler line up along Cesar Chavez Street in Downtown Austin.
Congratulations racers, volunteers, donors and partners! We thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for making 2024 Run For The Water a success. You registered, ran, partnered, donated, volunteered, and fundraised! All these activities support our work of providing people in need daily access to clean water in rural Burundi.
From everyone at the Gazelle Foundation and the many benefactors of clean water - Murakoze Cane! (This means “Thank you very much!” in Kirundi, the local language.) We are also grateful to all the staff, volunteers, and team members who made the race possible! We can’t wait to update you on the impact of this year’s race!
Relive The Thrill Of The Race With Photos
Pete Rauch, Michelle Sandquist, and Gilbert Tuhabonye celebrate a great race!
Your complimentary photos are now available. Navigate to our dedicated photo site and tap on the 'ALL PHOTOS' button to explore. Just enter your name or Bib number in the search box to find your memorable moments. You can also explore by start, finish, distance, or post-race.
We are extremely grateful to all the team captains, runners, walkers, sponsors, race producers, and volunteers who made the post-race festival a success! Everyone enjoyed the Burundian drummers performing their heart-thumping routines and athletic moves.
Booths all across the South First Street Bridge were buzzing with excitement and joy. People flocked to the Gazelle Foundation booth to learn more about the gravity-fed water systems we build. The Kids Corner was full of people, children, and strollers celebrating and enjoying time together with puzzles to face painting, photo booth, bubbles, friendship bracelets, hula hoops, toy drums and more. Lastly, food trucks kept everyone fed with essential post-race fuel.
See all the photos! When you share, tag us @gzlfoundation #runforthewater
Friends cheer on their friends and loved ones, congratulating them for the work they put in to finishing the race!
Winners and Personal Bests
Everyone participating could be considered a winner, racing and becoming part of our movement for change. We saw runners of every capability, kids in capes, children in strollers, and furry dog friends, too. See the race results.
This year’s theme, Our Mission. Your Movement for Change, invited participants of all ages and abilities to get involved, walk or run, form teams, cheer one another on, staff water stops, and more.
Your participation in any capacity means we can bring more clean water to an area of the world where most people walk 2-4 miles to fetch water multiple times a day.
StartING Line Meditation
offered by Denise Sechelski
A long-time tradition at the starting line is to offer a meditation to reflect on everything that has brought each individual together to race and make a collective difference for someone in Burundi they have never met.
On this beautiful morning, take a breath.
Celebrate all the steps you have taken that prepared you for this day.
You are here because you chose to take the first step.
You chose action and compassion and hope for the future.
Putting one foot in front of the other can lead to great things.
Step by step you help bring clean water, hope, health to Burundi.
There, with clean water nearby, people’s steps are fewer.
One challenge is made a little lighter.
Communities are one step closer to the clean water that sustains, heals, and gives life.
Today your steps flow together to forge a solution.
Piece by piece, one water source at a time, people, families, and communities are connected through the hope that clean water brings.
Celebrate this day and your effort.
Celebrate your choice to help others one step at a time.
Community Gathers at SHAKE OUT RUN
More than 60 people attended our first-ever Official Shake Out Run. The event was presented by Generous Benefits, hosted by HOKA & Karavel Shoes.
HOKA pacers led families, first-time 5k and 10-milers, and experienced racers on the three-mile loop around the Crestview and Allandale neighborhoods. Attendees enjoyed exclusive access to Karavel Shoes before the store opened to the public including Packet Pickup before the rush!
Gazelle Foundation Executive Director Courtney Waldren welcomed the runners and thanked them for taking part in Run For The Water and described how running the race directly impacts the Foundation’s ability to build clean water systems in Burundi. Bret Brummit from Generous Benefits spoke about his deep appreciation for Gilbert and the Gazelle Foundation’s mission to help people who currently don’t have access to clean water. The company is known for providing health benefits that care for the whole person, and making a lasting impact on the communities they serve.
The morning also included complimentary cheer sign making, fruit and pastries from Sour Duck Market, tacos from Tacodeli, coffee, tea and lattes from Creature Coffee. Attendees also got access to try out HOKA shoes and other swag giveaways from HOKA, Karavel, and the Gazelle Foundation.
Global Run For The Water Participants
We had runners and walkers participating in the race from around the world. Through our virtual Global Run option, teams could fundraise and run the race within the same window to amplify our impact. Our global community and teams of racers show their dedication for bringing peace and hope through clean water.
Participants from 14 states in the United States and five countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Norway, and Panama ran the race this year.
About The Gazelle Foundation
The Gazelle Foundation brings clean water and transformative change to Burundi one village at a time. We built our purpose in our founder’s footsteps: Gilbert Tuhabonye has embraced a life of joy and forgiveness. For Gilbert the burn scars on his body remain a daily reminder of surviving a horrific genocide in 1993. For the people who know him, Gilbert embodies the power of optimism and perseverence. We believe that regardless of circumstances or obstacles, anyone can make the world a better, more compassionate place.
As Gilbert says, “Water is the number one issue in Africa, Water is everywhere—but it is not clean.”
Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the leading cause of death is from preventable, waterborne diseases. Clean water is the foundation for improved health, better educational opportunities, safer communities, and economic investment. Most of all it provides hope to a country mostly forgotten by the world. Learn how we build clean water systems.
