Our team is amazing! For 16 years running, the Gazelle Foundation has thrown the best race in town. Each November, over 5,000 runners and walkers take to the streets of downtown Austin for the annual Run For The Water 10 Miler, 5K, and Kids K through our beautiful west Austin course. The event is an opportunity to provide clean water to those that need it most. We want you to get to know the people who make the event possible.
Our new race director, Cheryl Teekell, first learned about the Gazelle Foundation 14 years ago. The mission stayed with her over the years, and when a longtime coworker reached out to say the role of Race Director for Run For The Water was open, the answer to whether she'd apply was an immediate yes.
Gilbert Tuhabonye at Run For The Water finish line.
Cheryl wanted to find meaning in something more significant. Her job as Race Director combines more than a decade of experiential marketing experience specializing in road races with the optimism of work that supports the advancement of people in the entire country of Burundi.
"I want to focus my efforts on ensuring that every runner and partner that joins Run For The Water understands the value and impact of their participation," says Cheryl. "I am full of expectation and optimism for what we can achieve together."
Before starting at the Gazelle Foundation, most of Cheryl's career involved working with clients such as Nike and J.P. Morgan on their running events. The Nike + Human Race 10K brought her to Austin during the summer of 2008, gathering 14,000 runners for the first-time event. She got to know the Austin running community and its calendar of races, including Run For The Water.
Cheryl left the corporate world of marketing in 2019 to have her daughter. When she started looking for the next opportunity, she wanted to contribute to something that directly and positively impacted others. "Knowing Gilbert and his story and the Gazelle Foundation's mission, knowing how my work would affect the people of Burundi, and loving the running community in Austin, it was an easy decision to join the Gazelle Foundation," she says.
Cheryl will work on all aspects of our signature event, including logistics and partner relations. Please reach out to her with any leads or questions at Cheryl@gazellefoundation.org. "From our small part of the world, we can have a big impact on the lives of Burundians, however, we engage with the foundation, whether as an employee, a runner, a partner, or a member."
For registration and event details see Run For The Water.