Dear Runners,
It is with great disappointment, but out of an abundance of caution, that we will be cancelling our “Run for the Cows” on October 31,2021. We are so very sorry to do this, but your safety as well as that of our staff members and volunteers remains paramount. After speaking with Redding, CT health professionals and members of our board and staff, the decision has been made to err on the side of caution. Between new and more transmissible variants that continue to come into our area, hosting people from 28 states without asking for a quarantine, not being able to verify people’s vaccination status, not having onsite testing, and not having adequate room to distance our 1,200 runners, 100+ volunteers, and spectators, this event presents too many health risks.
The Run for the Cows has become one of the favorite events of our year. We have loved introducing all of you to our Education Center, we have been inspired by your strength and determination, and we have been so very grateful for the $40,000+ net revenue The Run has generated each year in support of our environmental and agricultural education programs. Your registration fees and our local sponsorships have supported the programs that we share with enthusiastic students (typically 5000 a year) and have provided scholarships for the programs we share with Title 1 schools.
At the moment, there are no plans to reschedule this particular event, but hopefully another Run for the Cows will be in our future.
As you can imagine, refunding registrations for 1,200 runners will be a daunting task for our small organization, with one part time office manager—the registration site that you used is no longer able to issue refunds because of the time that has lapsed. If you would be willing to allow your registration fee to turn into a tax-deductible donation to the Education Center, we would be so grateful! We are a 501(c)(3) organization, and since no goods or services have been provided to you, your accountants will see this as a pure donation. This would be an extraordinarily helpful gift in support of our education center during this time of Covid.
If you would like to arrange for a refund, please complete the required form below. Please understand, we will do our best with the refunds, but they will take time.
Again, we are very sorry about this. Thank you for your understanding and for your support. Stay safe.
With best regards,
The Board and Staff of New Pond Farm Education Center