SAVE THE DATE – 2nd Annual South Florida Mud Run

FORT MYERS, Fla. - July 17, 2013 - PRLog -- Fort Myers, FL – July 16, 2013 – Southwest Florida couple, Dustin Edwards and Stephanie-Ink Edwards, are pleased to announce the date for the Second Annual South Florida Mud Run to benefit the new Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. The event will take place on January 11, 2014 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Redneck Yacht Club in Punta Gorda.  Participants can sign up as individuals or teams, and the event is open to children and adults ages 4 and up. 100 percent of the proceeds benefit the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.

For more information or to register, email southfloridamudrun@gmail.com, or
visit http://southfloridamudrun.com.  

“Last year we decided to organize the South Florida Mud Run as a unique fundraising event to raise money for local charities and promote active family friendly lifestyles,” says Stephanie Ink-Edwards. “After seeing the fantastic show of support and attendance of almost 2,600 participants last year, we knew we had to keep this going,” adds Ink-Edwards.

The South Florida Mud Run features three-miles of challenging and fun obstacle courses designed for all ages of degrees of athleticism. Participants will run, jump, crawl, and climb through obstacles in the mud.  This year, organizers plan the make one of the two adults course even more challenging and extreme, while keeping the other course more fun for beginners. There will also be two child-friendly courses – a half-mile course and a one-mile obstacle run.  

“Both of our children were born at the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida and admitted to the NICU due to health complications, so raising funds for the new hospital is just one way we can give back and show them how much we appreciate the quality care we received for our children,” adds Dustin Edwards.

All gifts to the Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida Capital Campaign support the construction of a new state-of-the-art, 128-bed, comprehensive pediatric health care facility on the grounds of Health Park Medical Center.  B. Thomas Golisano, a resident of Naples and noted philanthropist, pledged to match dollar-for-dollar all Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida Capital Campaign contributions up to $20 million.

"This gift comes as my personal commitment to help Lee Memorial Health System build a hospital where all children in Southwest Florida will receive the best possible care close to home," Mr. Golisano says. "I hope this gift helps leverage support from others in the region and motivates everyone to contribute in a meaningful way to this endeavor.”

Dustin Edwards and Stefanie Ink-Edwards founded the South Florida Mud Run in early 2012. The Mud Run was created as a unique fundraising event that not only would raise money for a worthy cause, but also promote an active lifestyle in a family friendly way. This event will contribute 100 percent of its net proceeds to the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida to help build a new tower for the hospital.