Prior to the pandemic, the Vermilion County Conservation Foundation had an event called “Cheeseburgers and Fun.” But last year, they flipped the burger over and turned it into “Cheeseburgers and Run,” as an annual event to raise money for playground equipment on Vermilion County Conservation District sites. This year’s Second Annual Cheeseburgers and Run 5K Walk/Run has the live event Saturday October 8th, 11 AM at Kennekuk County Park. As the Foundation’s Nick Vinson recently told Tommy B on D102’s The Big Show, the “cheeseburger” part of this event remains, with all participants receiving a certificate for a free cheeseburger.
AUDIO: This event is co-sponsored by the Vermilion County Conservation Foundation and the Witzel Family McDonald’s. And the Witzel Family McDonald’s has donated, as a part of their sponsorship, a free cheeseburger coupon to everybody who runs in the face; or everybody who participates.
And participants also have the option of going the virtual route, for the entire week after the live event on October 8th. As the Foundation’s Erica Ramsey explained to Tommy B on The Big Show, there will be three specially marked trails from October 8th through the 15th.
AUDIO: One at Forest Glen, one at Kennekuk, and you can do the Kickapoo Rail Trail, where we have signs up if want to do the trail. And we’ll leave those signs up for about a week, for that time period, and then you can do that on your own. Or like you said, you can run your own path. So you don’t have to be in Vermilion County to participate.
The important thing is, please sign up for Cheeseburgers and Run by Thursday, September 15th. The full $40 dollar price includes a T-shirt and medallion, which can be sent to your house if you go the virtual route. Just go to cheeseburgersandrun.org. The first installation of new playground equipment is scheduled to go in this fall. The Vermilion County Conservation District is responsible for five specific areas: Kennekuk Park, Forest Glen, the Kickapoo Rail Trail, Heron Park, and Lake Vermilion.
