Katie Praetsch is many things. She’s a mother of three, a nurse, a doer, and someone who loves being outdoors and in nature. One thing she never planned to be, however, is a race director.
Then, last year, Katie found herself with a tricky question. She was looking for a way to raise money for The Willmot Learning Place – an incredible nonprofit preschool located in central New Hampshire where each of her children were able to attend – but she didn’t just want to put on another bake sale or traditional fundraiser. She wanted to do something more closely aligned with her values of getting kids off screens and into nature.
One day, while wandering through the nearby Webb Forest with a friend, she realized that a 5k in a place like this would be the perfect way to raise money.
In that moment the Webb Forest Wander was born.
Support & Help
As she worked to make her idea a reality, Katie was lucky that a friend, Brandon Baker, happened to be an event director and was able to point her in the right direction. One of his first recommendations was to use athleteReg as her registration platform.
“Honestly, athleteReg was exactly what I needed. The system was extremely easy to use and people like Patrick on the support team were so friendly. Whether it was a random evening or a weekend, they’d get back to me amazingly quickly and always with the exact thing I needed. That’s not something you see much these days.”
As Katie can attest, there’s a lot that goes into producing a 5k from securing the town’s approvals to making sure the number of porta potties is aligned to the needs of well-hydrated runners. Being able to have a simple solution for registration gave her one less thing to worry about.
One-by-one, every piece fell in place and an excited group of racers lined up to tackle the course in August of 2025.
Success and Bigger Goals
Katie had two primary goals going into the event. First, raise $1,000 through registration fees. Second, cover all race day expenses with donations so that every registration dollar went to the school. Thanks to her diligence, scrappy marketing, and the support of her community, she was able to do exactly that.
“It was a lot of work, but it was so rewarding and it showed everyone involved how much being in nature can improve our lives. The vibe that day was wonderful and so many people were already saying they hoped I’d do it again next year.”
Making this race an annual event, it turns out, is exactly what Katie is planning. Between a former runner who wants to be the race starter, the hope for word of mouth to give year two extra momentum, and building on lessons from year one, Katie is going full steam ahead toward a bigger-and-better 2026 edition scheduled for Saturday, August 15.
We love races like the Webb Forest Wander. They’re a perfect example of the power of events to get people outside and do good in our communities. We couldn’t be more proud of what Katie has created and can’t wait to see where she takes this event from here.
Learn more about the Webb Forest Wander:
Learn more about the Wilmot Learning Place:
https://wilmotlearningplace.org/
Learn more about athleteReg:
