Our Major Annual Fundraiser 
Thank you to all of the participants, spectators, sponsors, donors, vendors, and volunteers who contributed to the success of The Fast & The Furriest® on Saturday June 1, 2019. We hope you will join us for our 14th Annual 10K, 5K, dog walk, and pet festival, which will again feature live music, food trucks, sponsor giveaways, vendors, pet contests, and a variety of activities for you, your family and your dogs. Stay tuned for announcement of the date for 2020. Come out and help us celebrate our love of animals and our city.
The event is located at Rochester Animal Services, 184 Verona Street, Rochester NY 14608 and adjacent Brown Square Park. There is free parking (although donations are appreciated) in the Kodak / Carestream Lot D on the corner of Brown Street and Verona Street, with access from Oak Street.
Special Features for 2019 
- Free Rabies & DAPP Vaccinations (dogs only)
- Free Microchip Clinic (dogs only)
- Camp ROC Star live performances
- On-site dog licensing for City residents ($10 altered, $30 unaltered)
- Discounted pet adoptions at Rochester Animal Services ($10 cats, $20 dogs)
- Food Trucks and Carts
- Play Yard Demonstration
- Rescue Groups on site
Note: There will be road closures in the Brown Square Park Area as well as along the Race Routes. Be sure to review the road closures and if necessary, the alternate routes into the parking area.
2019 Event Schedule
6:45 a.m. Race Registration
8:00 a.m. 10K Race Start on Plymouth Avenue
8:15 a.m. 5K Race Start on Brown Street and live music
8:45 a.m. Dog Walk Registration opens, Face Painting, Bounce House, and Attendee
Dog Agility Course open
9:00 a.m. Shelter opens, Vaccination and Microchip Clinic opens
9:45 a.m. 10K and 5K Race Awards ceremony
10:30 a.m. Dog walk registration ends
10:35 a.m. Attendee Dog Agility course closes, live music
11:00 a.m. Dog Walk begins in park
12:30 a.m. Pet contests at stage, Canine Playgroup Demo begins,
Face Painting and Bounce House close
1:00 p.m. Pet Contest Winners announced
12:15 p.m. Live music
1:15 p.m. RAS alumni group photo at stage with FREE bandana
1:30 p.m. Raffle drawing at stage; Kids Zone, Clinic, and Play Yard demo end
2:00 p.m. Event ends
On-Site Vendors & Sponsors
- Monroe Veterinary Associates
- Annamaets Pet Food Inc.
- Bark-a-licious
- Bayer
- Churchville Veterinary Hospital P.C.
- Exp Realty LLC
- Farmers Insurance- Flanagan Mills Agency
- Foresters Financial
- Invisible Fence® Brand
- Liberty Mutual
- L.L. Bean
- Off Leash K9 Training Rochester
- PetSaver Healthy Pet Superstore
- S. A. Designs
- Tails of Success
- Tuxedo’s K-9 Training Camp
- Trader Joe's
- Ralph Honda
- ROC The Mint
- Verona Street Animal Society
On-Site Non Profit & Rescue Organizations 
- Verona Street Animal Society
- Queen City Pitties Animal Rescue
- Operation Freedom Ride
- GRASP
- Rescue Pit, Inc
- Buffalo Pug and Small Breed Rescue
- Pets Stop Here, Inc
- Willow Domestic Violence
Food Trucks & Carts
- Wing Nutz
- Monster Hots
- Brunch Box
- Cheesed & Confused
- Stingray Sushi Fusion
- Al’s Ice Cream
Live music
Performances by Travis Fitch and his Camp ROC Star friends throughout event 
Fundraising
All event participants are encouraged to raise donations individually or as a team. A team can be composed of walkers, runners, non-participant fundraisers or any combination thereof.
Can’t make it to this year’s event, but want to help the shelter animals? Become an online fundraiser and be eligible to receive all of our great pledge-level prizes.
We encourage everyone who is raising money for the event to fundraise online to simplify the process and reduce costs, however you can also use our pledge form. Please help us help the shelter animals at Rochester Animal Services by forming a team today.
Here’s how to get started:
- Create your team; if you are a runner you must first register as a runner
- Designate one person as team captain
- Recruit team members
- Direct each member to register and select your team during the registration process
- Start gathering pledges online or download a pledge form
- Make team t-shirts (optional)
- Plan your strategy for leading the pack
- Raise funds throughout the year to increase your impact
- Consider bake sales, garage sales, bottle drives, third-party fundraisers, etc. to boost your team earnings Have FUN and THANK YOU
NOTE: Fundraising Prize Totals will be taken from ONLINE donations as of midnight on May 29. Donations after that time will be accepted but not used toward determination of your prize. Cash and checks made payable to Verona Street Animal Society should be delivered to the registration area on June 1 between 6:45 a.m. and 10 a.m. or mailed to: Verona Street Animal Society, PO Box, Rochester, NY 14692. Mail-in donations must be received no later than May 25 to be counted toward fundraising totals.
Winners must claim their fundraising prizes no later than June 30, 2019. Prized unclaimed before July 1, 2019 shall be forfeited.
Race Information
Race participants will have two courses to choose from through the City of Rochester. Both courses are certified to be accurate by USA Track & Field (NY16118KL [10K] and NY16116KL [5K]). All race participants are required to sign a waiver and release of liability because the event is sanctioned by USA Track & Field (USATF). The USATF waiver and release will be available for participants to sign at Fleet Feet Sports during race packet pick- ups and at event-day registration. If you wish to review the USATF waiver and release beforehand, you can download a copy.
5K Race Map 10K Race Map
Race Registration Fees, Times and Awards
We encourage all participants to fundraise for the shelter animals at Rochester Animal Services either individually or with a team.
10K Race
- $25 pre-event registration and $30 beginning May 29 at midnight
- Start Time is 8:00 a.m.
- 10K Awards: Top 3 male and female finishers win $100, $75, $50 Fleet Feet Sports store vouchers; store vouchers for $15 – $40 are also awarded to top 3 male and female finishers in each age group.
5K Race
- $20 pre-event registration $25 beginning May 29 at midnight
- Start Time is 8:15 a.m.
- 5K Awards: Top male and female finishers each receive a $50 store voucher; medals will be awarded to the top male and female finishers in each age group.
Tech shirts will be included ONLY for the first 300 registered race participants and cotton shirts will be included ONLY for the subsequent 100 registered race participants. Race participants can pick up their race packets at Fleet Feet Sports at The Armory, 155 Culver Road, on Friday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Any packets not picked up will be available at race registration at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, June 1.
Dog Walk Information
Join us for a leisurely stroll of about one mile with or without your dog in support of shelter animals, pet adoption, pet owner support services, and the lifesaving programs at Animal Services. Register online. Registration is $25 for adults and includes The Fast & The Furriest® cotton t-shirt ONLY for the first 200 registered participants. Fee for kids 10 and under is $5 (no shirt included). Simply register online with your fee or register on-site the day of the event.
Walkers can pick up their packets at Fleet Feet Sports at The Armory, 155 Culver Road, on Friday, May 31 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Any packets not picked up will be available at walk registration at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, June 1.
DOG WALK REGISTRATION
Volunteer Opportunities
Each and every day volunteers make a world of difference for Rochester Animal Services. However, for this event we need even more help to make it fun and successful for everyone involved. We need everything from parking attendants to race marshals.
Please sign up to choose your hours and volunteer activities for this year’s event. If you have questions regarding volunteering, please contact us at vsasinc@gmail.com.
Corporate Sponsorship & Vendor Information
By sponsoring The Fast & The Furriest®, your business can heighten its corporate image, show community support, and increase brand awareness while reaching concerned and committed participants from the Greater Rochester area. Your support sends a message that your company is a recognized partner in this important community effort that reaches a broad demographic of pet owners who are concerned with the welfare of animals in their community. View sponsorship opportunities. If you have questions, please email us at vsasinc@gmail.com.
If your interested in being a vendor, please email us at vsasinc@gmail.com to see if there is still open space. You will then be asked to complete the Vendor Agreement.
Getting to the Event
There will be several street closings along the race routes to ensure the safety of our participants. Some of those street closings may impact access to the event site and parking lot. Please review the driving directions to avoid any problems.
Still have questions about the event?
Contact us at vsasinc@gmail.com