Race will affect traffic at popular Tacoma park. The finish line has a sloth
Parks Tacoma is hosting its annual “Owl Together Now” race Saturday, where runners race through Point Defiance Park, including the zoo.
The family-friendly mile walk and 5K run will temporarily affect guests’ access to the park on July 26.
The mile race will start at 6:45 p.m. and the 5K will start at 7 p.m., according to Parks Tacoma’s website.
Drivers will be stopped for about 10 minutes when the 5K run begins, “on Animal Loop Rd leading towards Five Mile Dr to allow runners to safely pass through the construction zone,” Parks Tacoma spokesperson Stacia Glenn said in an email to The News Tribune on July 18.
After that, guests can “proceed with caution” as they drive on the roadway, she said.
Participants can park at Point Defiance Park or the zoo. Carpooling is recommended, the website states.
The 5K run will start right outside the zoo. The course will take runners through the inner section of Five Mile Drive and finish near the main walkway of the zoo, the website states.
The one-mile walk will start and end in the zoo.
Runners will see penguins, red wolves and musk oxen from their habitats as they race, Glenn said. A zookeeper will be holding a sloth near the finish line so participants can get a closer look, she said.
After the races are finished at 9 p.m., there will be concession food for sale, free bananas and temporary tattoos, Glenn said.
Registration for the 5K run is full, but there are open spots for the mile run for $25.
Half of the event’s proceeds will go to Point Defiance’s chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, an organization focused on animal conservation and zookeeping professional development, according to the website.
