Space Race 2026: Mission Accomplished
🚀 A Mission Fueled by Magnolia 🚀
Mission Stats
⛽ $45,229 in rocket fuel collected
👩🚀 262 astronauts participated
🌙 4354 laps traveled toward the stars
🛰️ 61 mission crew members (aka volunteers!)
📡 953 signals of support received/donations
🏆 La Ola reached top orbit for fundraising
Quinn Segna- Most Laps Overall (Upper El)
Gavin Tilden- Most Laps Overall (Lower El)
Zayn Hassell- Most Money Raised
*scroll below for images of our star astronauts*
Our Space Race Fun Run 2026 was truly out of this world, and it’s all because of this incredible community! All the work that went into creating the MOST fun day for our kids (not to mention the week of free dress) and such an incredibly generous fundraiser is all because of our out of this world community we have here at Magnolia.
We want to give a major thank you to Roxanne, Jessica and Ryan for being the most exuberant and dedicated leads we could have asked for! Our deepest thanks to every parent, caregiver, and family for making this day so incredible and for the lasting impact your support will bring to our community. Keep scrolling for more shout outs to our star volunteers!
Together, we raised an amazing $45,ooo 🎉
This event wouldn’t have been possible without:
💫 Our incredible volunteers who showed up and made the day run smoothly
💫 Our teachers and staff who supported and encouraged students every step of the way
💫 And YOU—our families—who donated, shared, and cheered our students on
🌟 The Impact
What makes this event so meaningful isn’t just the total raised—it’s what it represents. It’s a community coming together and students learning how to show up and be part of something bigger.
It’s because of you that we’re able to bring new projects to life that will continue to make Magnolia such a meaningful place for our students, including:
🏀 a new middle school sport court
🌿 funding to help classroom patio spaces
🌳 additional shade across campus
✨ along with so many of the everyday needs FOM supports all year long (teacher grants and appreciation, library, consumables, staff relief, campus beautification for just a couple examples)
🚀 Thank You for Making It Happen
We are so grateful for each and every one of you. Whether you donated, volunteered, shared a link, or showed up to cheer—you helped make this mission a success.
Because of you, Magnolia continues to be a place where students thrive, connect, and grow.
🌟 Thank you for helping us reach the stars 🌟
Scroll through the galaxy of unforgettable moments from Space Race 2026
Congratulations to all our class and individual honorees
HUGE thanks to all the amazing volunteers
The Fun Run wouldn't be possible without our amazing volunteers, and this year several folks went above and beyond with their time and contributions. We'd like to recognize:
Outstanding help in the planning/support/execution
Roxanne Huckabee- our fearless leader that helped bring the fun run fundraiser to campus and has kept it rolling every
year! We can’t believe that your leadership has raised over $100k for this school since 2022. You keep the positive pursuit
going every day and feel SO lucky to have you as part of our community!!
Jessica Henderson and Ryan Krager: for being the best sounding board, source of endless ideas,
being amazing at the tasks I'm bad at, showing up again and again even though
we have 11 kids between us, and making me laugh when I feel like I'm about to lose my mind.
You're the best Fun Run partners I could ask for!
Joanna Klose- for being the best source of inside information and connections at MMFA,
the voice of reason, sign designer extraordinaire, expert text writer, cheerleader, and more.
You make sure we tie up the loose ends, and everyone has what they need, and we're so grateful!
Kate Batch- for fueling excitement with bi-weekly bracelet deliveries, keeping us all updated with fundraising totals,
and for your practical and direct approach to problem solving, always supplemented by your excellent sense of humor.
We're lucky to have you on this team!
Daisha Anderson- For celebrating all our successes with the most enthusiasm, sharing your marketing knowledge and
know-how, and for showing up and supporting the Fun Run with your time and energy each year!
Raven Johnson- for pioneering the Middle School Fun Run and sharing your passion and commitment to the
improvement of our school! All of your time spent promoting the event and being there all day on
BOTH sides made such a huge impact!
Kathryn North- Our registration queen!! Thank you for caring sooo much about making this process as smooth as possible
for our participants! You brought your containers, folders, and alphabetized dividers, and whipped our systems into shape!
Without you, it would have been chaos. AND then you showed up to help us tear down and put everything away.
We are so very grateful for you!!
Theresa Tran- A real Fun Run MVP. Because of you (and the community service club), we had the prettiest signs!
You made sure we had the best popcorn and that the concessions stand had everything necessary to run smoothly this year.
You helped prep on Friday and stayed until the very end of the day on Saturday.
Your energy is contagious, and we couldn't have done this without you!
Ms. Donnell- for being our eyes, ears and support at the middle school campus to make sure everything was being executed and kept on track!
Coach David- for supporting the middle school to be physically ready to complete the obstacle course and making the most amazing videos to help everyone see the magic of the Magnolia community!
Ms. Tonya- for creating and supporting the middle school to have the culture of participation!
Prep day and day-of superstars:
Aish Vivek and Lina Trejo- for heroically blowing up dozens of balloons and labelling alllll the bibs
Ben Williams- For single-handedly carrying 1 million tables and chairs to the field
Alexus Horton- For working ALL DAY at the Fun Run! We feel the love, and we send it back to you!
Evan McClelland- For showing up at the crack of dawn, fighting broken tents, problem-solving our finicky Foam Cannon, and being a real good Dad all the while
David Friend and Tam Tran- for carrying the heavy things and doing the dirty jobs on Friday and Saturday
Kevin Kelly- For taking the best photos and bringing the big tent and posts, and carrying heavy things at the end of the run!
Katie Jackson, Meredith Murray, and Jasmin Arce- For doing the heavy lifting at the end of the day, even though it got so HOT
Sarah Carlson- for motivating the MS students to complete their laps in the sun and heat
Madison McGrath- for helping prep the MS course to support the kids earning every lap
Mr. T- for always be the amazing and inclusive fun you always are!
Mr. Tristan- for helping to make sure all the MS kids had the most memorable first year at Fun Run
And a special thanks to our event volunteers, without you, there wouldn't be a Fun Run!:
Natalia and Charlie Cerf, Joan Freeman, Claudia Hernandez, Frances Wells, James Lloyd, Spencer Biegler, Elsa Bui, Kristen Williams, Mona Ghogomu, Kevin Kelly, Jessi Duong, Amber Hunter-Crawford, Sarah Koop, Miranda Rogers, Akshay Damarla, David Fried, Emily Perry, Isa Kelly, Annie Sabetti, Bailey Worthen, Suzie Kabat, Rosie Marshall, Shirene Garcia, Polly Thurston, Aish Vivek, Christine Aprile, Joanna Klose, Rebecca Baker, Theresa Tran, Molly Culver, Jessica Laxson, Daisha Anderson, Alexus Horton, Steven Ross, Cecilia Valentina, Frances Brosnan, Darrius Hassell, Erin Noel, Emily Perry, Sharma Nathan, Jenny Cole, Allen Marshall, David Fried, Jonathan Duong, Katie Jackson, Kathryn North
And last but not least, our dunk tankees, for being so brave and fun! Ms Amy, Ms. Tonya, Mr Jared, Coach David, Ms. Pippa, Ms. Izzy, Mr. Jason, and Mr. T!
Thank you to our event sponsors
Thank you to our Magnolia sponsors
Mission Accomplished
Our students got seriously creative last year—think videos, artwork, and fun ways to invite their communities to join the mission!
Bernardo Vela from El Oceano illustrated this awesome flyer!
Penny made a cool video at the local track!
Ready, Set, Fundraise!
Note: We keep breaking thermometers over here! PHEW!!
How much is FOM trying to raise?
This year, we’re trying to raise: As much as we can!!!!
$30,000!
$35,000!!
$40,000!!!
You can check out our exact progress here.
Will there be prizes? Yes!
School-wide prizes will be unlocked as we reach different benchmarks of total money raised
*This will be done by a group called Mad Science. They will have 3 scheduled launches, and have an activity table set up the rest of the day.
After the event, class parties will be awarded to the classes who:
raised the most money
ran the most laps
Individual Student Prizes will be awarded for:
Student who ran the most laps: free MMFA hat + trophy
Student who raised the most money: free MMFA hat + trophy
Punch Cards & Tickets:
We will be using punch cards this year for all participants to take part in their free activities. Tickets (of a single color) will be sold for extra activities/food/treats.
FAFQs
(Frequently Asked Fundraising Questions!)
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This year, we are asking all students who plan to attend the Fun Run to raise a minimum of $20 from friends, family, and their community. If this is a worry don’t hesitate to reach out.
There is no entry fee for parents or siblings who are not participating.
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We DO accept cash and check donations!
Checks can be made out to “MMFA” with memo: “Fun Run - [name of student]”, and either mailed to MMFA (5100 Pecan Brook Dr., Austin, TX 78724), or dropped off with Ms. Nora at the office.
Cash donations can be dropped off with Ms. Nora as well. If you’d like the donations to be added to your child’s class, please make sure you fill out a donor slip for each donation.
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You can see real-time progress of our overall fundraising totals at https://app.99pledges.com/fund/FOMfunrun2026
Class fundraising totals can also be viewed on that site: in the drop-down menu called “All participants,” under the list of what the donations will go towards.
We also have a class tracker poster in the main office that we update regularly with each class’ participant count and donation counts, and we aim to write up our overall fundraising totals on the sign at the front gate each day.
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Check back here for guidance on how to create your own QR Codes, and printable flyers that you can hand out to friends and family, or display at a lemonade stand or yard sale.
We’re here to help you get creative in your fundraising mission!
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Even if you can’t join us on the day, we still encourage students to register as participants, set a mileage goal, and fundraise for their school!
You can run/walk/skip/stroll your mileage at another time and/or location, and report your mileage to Fun Run Organizers. It’s super easy!
Our only ask that you stick to the deadline, completing and reporting all mileage by the event date, Saturday 4/25/2026.
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We will be using punch cards this year for all participants to take part in their free activities. Tickets (of a single color) will be sold for extra activities/food/treats.
Frequently Asked Questions about the event itself!
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Yes! This year we are “Running Wild”! Look out for fun jungle animals and jungle themes along the way.
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Set a modest reachable goal, and they can walk, skip, roll, dance - move however they’d like around the track! They can even switch off with friends and relay around the track.
The important thing is that they’re moving their body and getting in some healthy exercise while raising money for our school. We will also have energetic music at the Fun Run, so to encourage our bodies to move!
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Participants can absolutely take a break from doing laps and come back and do some more later!
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We will open the field for laps around 10:15, giving families a little bit of time to get through the registration table before starting their run. But students can do laps at any time from then until the event ends at 2pm.
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Not at all! It is a come and go event and families coming at different times will actually keep our field and activity stations from getting too crowded. We anticipate most families will spend around 2 hours total at the Fun Run, depending on the amount of time they spend on the race track.
Note that this is NOT a drop-off event. Participating children must be accompanied by a guardian.
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Even if you can’t join us on the day, we still encourage students to register as participants and set a mileage goal.
You can run/walk/skip/stroll your mileage at another time and/or location, and report your mileage to Fun Run Organizers. It’s super easy!
Our only ask that you stick to the deadline, completing and reporting all mileage by the event date, Saturday 4/26.
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Absolutely! We would love see join their children and show them that exercise and supporting our school are shared values!
Feel free to stroll or wear little ones, as well!
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Yes!
In addition to being able to purchase additional tickets for popcorn, popsicles, and the Dunk Tank, we have several great vendors to choose from.
Tacos by Tacoly Moley, a MMFA family-owned taco truck
Pizza from Local Slice
Coffee from Ani’s Day and Night
We will also have a complimentary refreshment station with water for people to refill their water bottles, and pickup small snacks to help keep up the energy.
Please note that only cash and Venmo will be accepted for these concessions.
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Feel free to park in the school parking lot, or on Pecan Brook and in the surrounding neighborhood.
The pedestrian gate on Pecan Brook will be open for entry/exit during the event.
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We will be designating an on-campus location for bathroom usage, rather than bringing in port-o-potties.
Please note though: All children MUST have an adult with them to exit the Fun Run area as we are not permitted to have children roaming on the campus without adult supervision.
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Email the Fun Run organizers here.
The 2025 FOM Fun Run was a huge success! Together we raised $$43,879 for our school and built a new playground!
The Inaugural 2024 FOM Fun Run was an amazing time and raised over $20,000 for our school!
Thanks to Nick Berard for capturing some of these great moments:
