Great Gnomeregan Run
aka The Running of the Gnomes
This annual charity in-game event in World of Warcraft takes place this weekend on October 10th 2020 and is now in its 11th year! The official Running of the Gnomes event is held exclusively on the Scarlet Crusade US realm. The run will set off from the Gnome starting area just outside Gnomergan and runs all the way to Booty Bay. Event organisers suggest you show up early as there is always a pre-run party!
The Running of the Gnomes / The Great Gnomeregan Race is an in-game community event that started on a single server, Scarlet Crusade, where low-level Gnomes run from the Gnome starting zone to Booty Bay in order to help raise awareness and funding for Breast Cancer. The yearly run was so popular with the WoW community that Blizzard decided to honour the event with a Micro-Holiday called the Great Gnomeregan Race. The micro holiday now provides players with a racecourse and NPCs to cheer them on. The Micro-Holiday takes place on all servers, but the community and gathering of players is still held on the Scarlet Crusade US server. The community event has raised thousands in the fight against Breast Cancer over the years, and I strongly suggest you consider making a donation, (see link below), even if you are not joining the official event on the Scarlet Crusade US realm.
Breast Cancer Charity
This year the event organisers are asking that you make a charity donation to The Cleveland Clinic’s Tuohy Vaccine. The vaccine is meant to help protect people against contracting breast cancer and is focused on the most lethal form of the disease: triple-negative breast cancer. The team is conducting various clinical trials and has been hard at work for many years.
Donate
You should donate using the following link: https://give.ccf.org/fundraiser/2925192
Taking part in the Gnome Run
Log in to the Scarlet Crusade US realm on October 10th before the run sets off and join in the party just outside Gnomeregan in the Gnome starting zone. The Gnome run is very popular and event organisers suggest you show up early for invites or check the Discord channel. Note: You must be on Scarlet Crusade or its connected realm Feathermoon.
Anyone can take part even if you do not have a subscription or US account: Simply download a US trial account, or even use an inactive US account to create a new character. Although trial accounts won’t be able to join the guild, you can still join in the run and chat with the community on Discord. https://discord.gg/vC2Yjzr
If you have an active account and you can join one of the official guilds. The organisers ask that you only join the guilds they have setup for a number of reasons including giving out directions and avoiding scammer links to false donations. You cannot pick your guild, you will be invited by organisers.
Current List of Official Gnome Run Guilds:
- Gnomes Race for a Cure
- Gnomes Race Too
- Gnome Three Racers
- Gnomes Race Four Us All
- Gnome Run Strikes Back
- Gnome and the Furious Six
- All Gnomes go to Seven
- The Last Gnome Run
- War for the Gnome Run
- Gnome with the Pink Run
- Gnomes to Eleven
The event organisers will announce any more guilds on Social Media and Discord as needed. Guild Tabards are available from the Guild Vendors in the major cities of Azeroth, or you can simply email yourself an Heirloom tabard from one of your other characters.
Why the Gnome Run?
So why were Gnomes chosen for this event? Well, the organiser advises that Gnomes are one of the few races with pink hair and they fit the idea of something “small” together adding up to something big when together!
Why Breast Cancer?
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast Cancer affects both women and men! The organisers understand they are ‘sugar coating’ something devastating with cute Gnomes to open up the conversation, but for good reason! It’s affected people that we really love in our community, families, or friends and coworkers. Everyone’s life is likely to be affected in some way by cancer. So if the pink hair and cute outfits of all these Gnomes remind just one single person to get themselves checked then the Gnomes have done their job.
It’s really hard to miss thousands of Gnomes doing anything, let alone thousands of Gnomes with the same coloured hair stampeding through half the continent of Azeroth!
The After Party!
Once the Gnome run has finished, the Gnomes head to Orgrimmar to give out hugs, kisses and licks to the current head of Orgrimmar. They have licked a lot of Horde leaders over the last 11 years!
How do I help?
The organisers want you to tell your friends & communities about the event. So do what I’ve done, get that information out there on your blogs and social media. Turn your guilds tabards pink for the day and talk about the vaccine or breast cancer. Ask your friends to come with you!
Don’t forget to check out the official discord for the Running of the Gnomes event: https://discord.gg/vC2Yjzr
Even if you can’t take part, please consider donating at the official fundraiser page: https://give.ccf.org/fundraiser/2925192
What can I expect?
If you want to know what to expect on the Gnome Run, check out my VoD of the 2018 event.
I am planning to stream the event again this year, so if you fancy tuning in, you can visit my Twitch Channel at: https://twitch.tv/kharlosgaming/