More than 1000 enthusiastic Weltklasse Zürich Zoo Runners
People of all ages joined the Weltklasse Zürich Zoo Run today. Some opted for a relaxed jog, while others chose a more ambitious pace. And there were runners, who paused often to observe as many animals as possible. A record number of participants – there were more than 1000 joggers – had signed up to run for a good cause. They all clearly enjoyed both the exercise and the opportunity to help protect nature at this year’s edition of the running event.
City Councillor Filippo Leutenegger fired the starting gun for the first large group that lined up with Olympic triathlon champion Nicola Spirig and her family just after 6pm. The varied course first lead runners past the popular penguin enclosure and then across the zoo grounds down to the elephant park. After a quick visit with the grey giants, who will be the ones to benefit from the runners’ donations this year, participants continued past the Lewa Savanna, and finally up the hill towards the finish area.
After completing the course, runners enjoyed snacks provided by Le Gruyère and Darvida, asked Nicola Spirig and world U20 champion Audrey Werro for autographs, relaxed in the summer atmosphere at the Ascona Locarno stand, got a sports massage (provided by Weltklasse Zürich medical partner Balgrist University Hospital), or decided to run another lap on the approx. 2.2km course.
Marco Meili, head of Weltklasse Zürich Kids & Family was delighted with the event. “The Weltklasse Zürich Zoo Run 2024 was great fun! It was just fantastic to see so many participants excited about being here tonight and about running for a good cause. Many thanks to Zoo Zurich for another great collaboration and to our partners and sponsors for their support,” he said.
Just as pleased, Andrina Bischof, head of the Zoo Zurich event team, agreed with him. “The Weltklasse Zürich Zoo Run was a great success! We are excited about the record number of people, who signed up to run for a good cause at Zoo Zurich. The atmosphere was excellent, there were so many happy faces! A fabulous running evening all around,” she confirmed.
Weltklasse Zürich projects and initiatives, in general, continue to be very popular. Another important date in the calendars of Weltklasse Zürich fans is just around the corner: Stadium tickets for the athletics meeting on 5 September will go on sale to the general public next week. After tickets went at record-breaking speed in 2023, Weltklasse Zürich expects Letzigrund Stadium to sell out very quickly again this year.
