Dear Sandbox Riders, Families, and Friends,
Here we are, another month closer to Kickstands Up in May! As we continue to get closer, planning and preparations are going well and I have no doubt Sandbox Route will be another amazing experience for us all. Our State Coordinators have been working all year to ensure our supporters are ready for our arrival and know what to expect. Leaders are finalizing their rosters and meeting with their teams to ensure we’re prepared to execute in May. The Itinerary Book is almost complete and will be published at the end of this month.
I’d like to take a moment and acknowledge what an amazing leadership team we have. It takes no less than 30 senior leaders and special staff to make our Run successful. These positions range from Road Guard Captain, Staging Team Leader, Fuel Team Leader, Leadership Support, the Platoon Coordinator, all Platoon Leaders, Chaplains, Photographer, Sit-Rep Writer, Registration Team, State Coordinators, and too many more to list here. To be clear, every volunteer who wears an official RFTW hat is considered leadership, and they are all instrumental in accomplishment of our Mission. There is an excellent description of the hat colors and what they mean here. The only difference is the Sandbox RC and ARC will wear desert tan-colored hats to signify our Route’s connection to Middle East Conflicts.
As you’ll see when the Itinerary Book is published, there aren’t very many changes from last year. One change I would like to discuss is a slightly shorter stay time at the Flight 93 National Memorial. The main reason for this change is to shorten Day 1 as much as possible in the interest of safety. It’s a very long first day and everyone needs to maximize their opportunity to rest. We plan to spend 1 hour and 30 minutes at the Memorial which will allow riders to attend the Ranger’s Presentation “A Call to Arms” and ride a shuttle bus for a short visit to the Visitor Center. Alternately, immediately after we arrive, you can ride the bus up to the Visitor Center and spend more time there. You can also use any extra time to hydrate, check your equipment, or help somebody else check theirs.
Pre-paid Fuel
After waiting as long as possible to understand what fuel prices should be in May and factoring in generous donations, we’ve decided prepaid fuel will be $65 per rider and will be mandatory again this year.
The cutoff date for paying for pre-paid fuel ahead of time is April 30. After that, you can pay cash at check-in in Ontario or Springfield. To use Zelle, send the money to Sandbox.Route@rftw.us (don’t forget the dot between Sandbox and Route). Be sure to annotate that it is for “Sandbox prepaid fuel”. You can also send a check made out to: Run For The Wall, Inc. Put “Sandbox prepaid fuel” in the memo line and mail to: RFTW Treasurer, 50 Fourth Ave Unit 1445, Dayton, NV 89403.
Promotions Team Leader
We are in dire need of somebody to help with this critical position. Without an energetic and dedicated Promotions Team, we’re going to have trouble matching the donations we were able to make last year to our very deserving and gracious supporters. We have some exciting items that will be available for auction and/or drawing, now we just need the right team in place to make that happen. Polar Bear and I fully understand this can be a thankless job, but please understand how much we need the help. If you have any questions about this position, please contact me directly.
Sandbox T-shirts
I’m excited to announce our route-specific t-shirts available for pre-sale on the RFTW Store at https://shop.rftw.us/. Polar Bear and I designed a Sandbox Route-specific t-shirt, a very similar concept to the unit t-shirts worn by U.S. Military personnel. We think the current design encapsulates the spirit of Sandbox Route, Run for the Wall, and the amazing stops along the route that support us. It features our logo, a map of our stops, the POW/MIA and KIA/WIA flags, and a reverse-field U.S. Flag on the right shoulder, reminding us of the flag U.S. Servicemen and women wore on their right shoulder when they deployed to the Middle East. $10 from the sale of every shirt will go to our Route funds, allowing us to donate to the many organizations that support us. These shirts are for pre-order only, and the window for ordering them will close March 15th to allow time for production and delivery. Please support us if you can because every little bit helps!
Please continue to get your equipment and yourself ready for kickstands up in May. If you have any questions, or need advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to your platoon or team leadership. They are there to help, and we can’t thank them enough!
See you all in May!
Respectfully,
Leo “Clutch” Rachmel
Run For The Wall XXXVI
Sandbox Route Coordinator
leo.rachmel@rftw.us
702-250-5512
Las Vegas, NV
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Midway Route Photos from previous runs are no longer available. 