The Fast & The Furriest®

Verona Street Animal Society
The Fast & the Furriest®
August 15th, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rochester’s favorite pet event is going virtual this year!  This means participants can run and walk anywhere and anytime, while making a difference in the lives of animals in need! We have also changed the date of The Fast & The Furriest® to Saturday, August 15th to correspond with International Homeless Animals Day and our mission to help pets in need find a home. This gives participants more time to train, donate, and fundraise for this great cause.

On Saturday, August 15th, animal lovers are invited to participate in The Fast & The Furriest® by taking a walk around the block or completing a 5K or 10K on the streets, trails or treadmill. No matter how you participate, know you are helping homeless pets within the Rochester community. 

The Fast & The Furriest® is the biggest fundraising event of the year for Verona Street Animal Society and, during these uncertain times, it is more crucial than ever that we meet our fundraising goal of $80,000 for Rochester’s animals. 

Event Information:

You have from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, August 15th to complete a walk, 5K or 10K on the streets, trails or treadmill. Run, walk, or hike, with or without your dog—it doesn’t matter. When done, share your results with us (directions to follow) to prove you’ve completed the event!  The Male and Female with the overall fastest time in each race will win a gift card to Fleet Feet Sports. All other finishers will be placed into a raffle drawing to win some great prizes from our sponsors.

Registration is $30 for each event (choose 5K, 10K, and/or walk). Register for one, two or challenge yourself to do all three in 24 hours!  Registered participants will receive a T-shirt (redemption details to follow) and access to a virtual marketplace with exclusive offers from sponsors and vendors.  Register by August 3rd to be guaranteed a t-shirt!

While going through the registration process make sure to set up your individual and/or team fundraising page and help increase our impact in serving people and animals in our community. Personalize the page with your own story, link it with Facebook Fundraising, and set your own personal goal. During this challenging time we all need to support and encourage each other. Learn more about setting up a fundraiser and other tools and tricks here.

Reach these fundraising goals and receive prizes!

Raise $50 - VSAS BuffRaise $250 - VSAS BackpackRaise $1,000 - Whistle Go GPS deviceRaise $2,000 - iFetch Ball Launcher

Throughout the journey and on event-day, you are encouraged to engage with Verona Street Animal Society on Facebook and Instagram and on The Fast & The Furriest® Facebook event page by sharing photos and videos of your training sessions and participation in the virtual event. Don’t forget to include your furry friends and fitness companions! Use the hashtags #TheFast&TheFurriest and #Fundraising4RAS to connect with other fundraisers and event supporters.

All runners and participants are welcome!!!!!!!  Pets are not required, but we encourage dogs and cats (and any other companion animal) to participate virtually as well. 

Why is your paw-ticipation so important?

By supporting Verona Street Animal Society and Rochester Animal Services, you are helping animals get the second chance they deserve. All funds raised through The Fast & The Furriest® event directly impact the animals in our community by:

Providing food, shelter, enrichment and medical care at the shelterPromoting adoption, lost and found, and spay/neuter programsSupporting under-served communities by providing access to pet resources

When setting up your fundraising team WHILE registering for the race, make sure to set up your own individual or team fundraiser on the donation page!