We would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for everything you brought to the first annual Bridge Valley Trail Blazer Race for Autism.  It was a huge success in large measure to all of your support, encouragement and energy.  Those of you who gave your time as volunteers, made a commitment to run, and all of you who supported our efforts throughout the entire process . . .we want to say THANKS!!!!!
 
We had 1,243 registered participants, approximately 150 volunteers and hundreds of spectators. Those runners who took advantage of the champion chip timing system can find their results at Compu Score. We were fortunate to have the event photographed by After the Game Photography. All race photos are of great quality and available for purchase in various formats. For more information, or just to peruse the photos, please visit their web site.

In the end, our preliminary numbers indicate that the event raised in the excess of $17,000 for the BCASC. This alone is a huge indication of the success and everyone’s efforts and passion, especially our sponsors. The number of those in attendance and the money raised exceeded all of our expectations. 

Our first place male finisher, Antonio DeVido, crossed the line in 18 minutes and 10 seconds (5.51 mile pace).  The first female finisher was 15-year-old Katie Kinkead with a time of 22.25. Although we did not sell enough tickets to give the Lexus away, the winner of the raffle walked away with $5,050.00.  The day brought many people, many celebrations and most importantly, smiles.
 
We are already looking forward to 2009 and discussing ways to improve upon the successes Saturday brought. Some changes will be adding additional shuttle buses to ensure the timely arrival of all runners and spectators, the ordering of more shirts with varying sizes and possibly some changes to the logistics surrounding the race itself. If you have any suggestions or specifics you would like us to consider for 2009, please use the information on our contact page to share your thoughts. We want to hear from you.

The committee is extremely happy with the end result.  We had 17 vendors, a snack shack, face painting, tattoos, sand art, a sensory tent, moon bounce, 10 piece jazz band, DJ, an array of free amenities for all runners, volunteers and spectators to enjoy! It was an amazing day and brought out even more amazing people, all in the name of raising awareness for autism. I could keep going about how much you brought to the day, but I think a Central Bucks family sums it up best.

I received this e-mail late Saturday afternoon:

“I could not let the day end without thanking you and all of the many dedicated volunteers that made today possible.  I expected it to be a great event, but I was blown away by how fabulous it truly was.  It was so well organized and just so beautifully orchestrated.  While I was standing at the start line, I felt my eyes well up with tears - I looked at my little guy sitting on the curb with the rest of my family, then I looked around and saw the crowd and heard Jen's voice on the p.a. system.  I thought to myself - wow, all of this, all of these people, all of this effort, all of EVERYTHING that went into today is for the benefit of my little guy sitting right over there.  It was just overwhelming.  Thank you again so much.  I am convinced that someday autism will yield to science and all of our prayers, but until that day, it is so wonderful to see that there are so many people out there that care so much to make a difference in the lives of those affected. “ 
 
You made this possible.... you made an impact...and you made all the difference!
Thank you for everything.
 
See you in 2009!
The Bridge Valley Trail Blazer Race For Autism - Race Committee