- October 3, 2024
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Lakewood Ranch's Jennifer Tullio wasn't sure the annual Boo Run, which raises funds and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, was going to happen during the pandemic.
Then Fit2Run's Parks Robinson came to her and explained how her event could be held safely by switching the venue from Lakewood Main Street to Nathan Benderson Park and then staggering the runners in groups of 25, five minutes apart in starting times.
In a matter of weeks, the event was put together.
"We weren't going to do this until he explained all the protocols," said Tullio, whose son Grayson has Duchenne and was the inspiration for the nonprofit Another Day for Gray. "Everything came together fast."
Although the event didn't draw near the 800 runners who competed in 2019, it did have 330 participants, with 60 of those competing on a virtual basis. The other 270 enjoyed the scaled back event at Nathan Benderson Park.
"This is just a huge family event," Robinson said. "It would have been hard not to have it. And these nonprofits need some sort of income.