By 
The Waunakee Chamber of Commerce and WaunaFest Run Committee awarded WaunaFest Run Race Founder, Ted Tweed a special recognition at the Waunakee Community Awards on June 5th, officially naming the 10 Mile Run the “Ted Tweed 10 Mile.”
Back in the 1970’s, Ted Tweed and Bob Niesen had an idea of organizing a little “foot race” in Waunakee. For the first race in 1979, 400 runners showed up to the race start, which at the time was the former Koltes Lumber Yard. (And is now Village Crossing where Lone Girl Brewing is located.) Ted and Bob were runners, and they quickly learned how to be race directors, juggling tons of details along the way! Many fun runs have come and gone through the years, but not the WaunaFest Run thanks in part to all those people led by Ted who helped make the race the iconic Waunakee tradition it is today.
In 2001, the Chamber was honored to take over race planning for the WaunaFest Run. Today, the Run happens every year during the last weekend of July as part of the annual 3-day WaunaFest celebration. The race is a fantastic fundraiser for the Chamber and a portion of the proceeds are donated back to WaunaFest to ensure the festival continues every year.
The Run is at beautiful Village Park and has more than 1200 runners and volunteers. Just like back when the race started, the run is still a social event where participants enjoy camaraderie with others at the start and finish. The intent is still to promote health and fitness and bring people to the community. The Chamber is lucky to partner with our businesses, the Village, citizens and volunteers to keep the tradition alive.
This year, the 43rd Annual WaunaFest Run is back in full force and will have a 5K run, 2-mile walk, kiddie run and a 10 mile run that marathoners love to compete in as preparation for a marathon.
Thank you, Ted, for bringing this run to our community and for all that you have done to support it through the years. Thank you for your hard work and vision in turning a little foot race into one of the best runs in the area!
