Photo Credit: City of Waukesha Dept. of Park, Recreation and Forestry
The Trailbreaker has a great history as a successful special event in Waukesha County, Wis. Originally started 24 years ago by three local business people—Don Ayre, Bill Hotz, and Dick Pas, who had a passion for running—the Trailbreaker marathon began as a way to raise funds for a local children’s hospital. For the last eight years, The Park Foundation of Waukesha, Inc., has taken on the responsibility of managing the event, with the proceeds going to the foundation. On April 1, 2017 (no fooling), we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of this running event, that will have generated nearly $250,000 in charitable proceeds.
The city sits along the Fox River, approximately 20 miles west of Lake Michigan, and about 160 miles east of the Mississippi River at Dubuque. Waukesha—named by the Potawatomi Indians and meaning “clean water”—is a growing city of almost 72,000 residents.
Frame Park is a community park along the banks of the Fox River. Over the last 20 years, the city—with the assistance of the Fox River Development Board and the Waukesha Rotary Club—renovated this park to include: