Al's Run Canceled

[warriorchick]

https://twitter.com/docReiner/status/1638957649373831179?t=hKyhR6BbS0tnFUtR_CFvIA&s=19

[cheebs09]

That’s a lot of words to not really give a clear message. That’s a bummer.

[Goose]

That is horrible news. I do not get the announcement. That has been a weekend our family has always looked forward to.

[Daniel]

Terrible news for sure.   A run is no longer a good thing.  Not inclusive enough I guess the message is.

[21Jumpstreet]

Terrible news for sure.   A run is no longer a good thing.  Not inclusive enough I guess the message is.

Kinda reads that way. I’m sure they could have incorporated some pretty cool events for people of all abilities. Too bad

[real chili 83]

What a horse sh1t reason.

[Warriors4ever]

I haven’t gone for a long time, but I think it’s a shame. Surely they could have come up with some creative ways to expand the reach.

[Jay Bee]

S U P E R B A R[/color]

[panda]

Terrible news for sure.   A run is no longer a good thing.  Not inclusive enough I guess the message is.

Al’s run is (was) the most inclusive run/walk event I’ve ever been a part of. Something stinks to high hell

[Goose]

Panda

No kidding. I have a friend from high school that has a quadriplegic son and he has been active participant in Al’s and every major run, including WI Ironman. I always loved to the joy in his face at Al’s, even now when he is grown man. The inclusion of everyone made it a special event to me.

I still remember the early days of starting in front of Children’s Hospital and seeing, the kids, nurses and Dr.’s watching and cheering on the start of the run. IMO, those were special moments in life.

[warriorchick]

What a horse sh1t reason.

I know, right?

If not everyone can actually run in Al's Run, no one can.

[Warriors4ever]

I remember the early days too. Great fun.

[Herman Cain]

https://twitter.com/docReiner/status/1638957649373831179?t=hKyhR6BbS0tnFUtR_CFvIA&s=19

So why doesn’t MU sponsor this event now. Have the NIL collective run it for the benefit of other 501c3 and a little bit for itself

[avid1010]

I know, right?

If not everyone can actually run in Al's Run, no one can.

Yeah...not buying the reasoning. 

[Lighthouse 84]

I know, right?

If not everyone can actually run in Al's Run, no one can.

How F-ing stupid. One can run, walk or get pushed in a wheelchair. It’s a fundraiser that brings people together. This is one of the most moronic things I’ve heard in a long time. 

[jesmu84]

I choose to believe Children's used a terrible excuse to save some dough

[Skip Intro]

I have no insider info, but I’m guessing it’s a combo of two things:

1. I think Briggs & Stratton pulled or greatly reduced their sponsorship.  That company is barely a presence in Milwaukee anymore.  In fact, I think they’ll be gone from the city in a few years, so sponsoring this event doesn’t really benefit them.

2.  Attendance was way down last year.  8000 runners in 2022 vs. 15,000 in 2018.  And it was only 10,000 in 2019, so it wasn’t all covid related.  It probably takes more than 8000 runners to make something of that magnitude make sense.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Progress!

[Goose]

PRN

Thanks for the laugh.

[muwarrior69]

I know, right?

If not everyone can actually run in Al's Run, no one can.

...and 7 likes?

[avid1010]

I have no insider info, but I’m guessing it’s a combo of two things:

1. I think Briggs & Stratton pulled or greatly reduced their sponsorship.  That company is barely a presence in Milwaukee anymore.  In fact, I think they’ll be gone from the city in a few years, so sponsoring this event doesn’t really benefit them.

2.  Attendance was way down last year.  8000 runners in 2022 vs. 15,000 in 2018.  And it was only 10,000 in 2019, so it wasn’t all covid related.  It probably takes more than 8000 runners to make something of that magnitude make sense.

This makes plenty of sense.

[Goose]

Getting a sponsor should be a fairly easy get. I have no idea how big attendance needs to be, but it is by far the biggest run/walk in the state. If Al’s is not big enough, the other 250+ 5k’s are not big enough.

I guess someone could argue the route, but a grand total of six cars drive down Wisconsin Ave on a Saturday morning.

[UWW2MU]

Survey for those who want to share their opinion with the organizers.

surveymonkey.com/r/SBHVBH3

[Skip Intro]

Getting a sponsor should be a fairly easy get. I have no idea how big attendance needs to be, but it is by far the biggest run/walk in the state. If Al’s is not big enough, the other 250+ 5k’s are not big enough.

I guess someone could argue the route, but a grand total of six cars drive down Wisconsin Ave on a Saturday morning.

The logistics of Al’s run were pretty tough.  Having two separate event spaces (MU campus and Summerfest grounds), bussing thousands who parked at Summerfest to the start line, etc.  It’s expensive and takes a ton of time and effort.  To make it work financially, they’d likely need to increase the entry fee by quite a bit, but that’d only make attendance drop even more.  I think Children’s just realized they could raise more through smaller events and campaigns.  They tried to sugarcoat these smaller events as being more inclusive, but this was about the costs.

[mu_hilltopper]

I don't understand the "it's too expensive" concept.

In the end, it raised money, lots of it.   "It didn't raise enough money"??

I'm furious.  That was a great event, and the PR release was just terrible.