Salute the Troops

🇺🇸 Event Overview

• Event: 14th Annual Salute the Troops Memorial Races
• Date: 2025-05-24
• Location: Lakeside Park, Fond Du Lac, WI
• Website: Salute the Troops Race

🏃 Race Events

• Timed Events: 10K run, 5K run/walk, kids’ fun run (12 and under)
• Non-Timed Events: 10K Ruck March, 5K Ruck March
• Accessibility: The course is wheelchair friendly
• Beneficiaries: Proceeds go to Salute the Troops of Wisconsin and NAMI

🎖️ Memorial Race Detail

The Dobogai Memorial 5K Run/Walk is in memory of Derek Dobagi. Derek was a law enforcement and justice administration major at Western Illinois University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2003. He received an active duty commission in 2003 as a second lieutenant in the United States Army through the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He then attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. That year he was named Lieutenant of the Year for the 25th Infantry Division. Derek was deployed to Iraq and served as the Brigade Scout Platoon Leader. On 22 August 2007, Derek and his ten-man scout team were returning to FOB Warrior after a successful mission. The Army Blackhawk helicopter - call sign "Jenna" -- they were flying in crashed. Derek, his scouts, and the four-man Blackhawk crew were killed. Since 2009, Derek's family has been honoring his memory and the memories of his comrades with a Memorial 5K Race in Fond du Lac.

🏅 Event Activities

• Registration: Day of registration and all kids’ activities on Oven Island
• Kids’ Fun Run: Encouraging children to adopt a healthy lifestyle
• Activities: Various games for children are available
• Location: All events take place inside Lakeside Park

💔 Ruck Information

Brandon Michael, our Marine, is why we ruck. His story touches on the struggles faced by many veterans, and we ruck to honor the memory of the fallen and remember everyone deployed. We ruck to show support for an elite group of individuals who don’t receive the recognition they deserve. We ruck to advocate for change and facilitate camaraderie.

📅 Race Day Schedule

• 5:30 AM: Onsite registration opens (ends 10 minutes before each race start)
• 6:30 AM: Brandon Michael Memorial 10K Ruck March START
• 6:45 AM: Opening Ceremony
• 7:00 AM: 10K START
• 7:30 AM: 5K run & 5K Ruck March START
• 10:00 AM: 10K COURSE CUTOFF
• 09:00 AM: KIDS RACE START
• 09:30 AM: AWARDS
• Course Closure: Course closes at noon

📜 Memorial Boot Garden

If you are participating in memory of, in honor of, or in support of a veteran or serviceman, we invite you to send a picture of them with a small blurb about them to race@salutethetroopswi.org by Friday May 27 at noon. These will be printed and laminated and set out in boots for all to read. Please include: branch of service, dates of service, if they died in service or lost their battle to suicide, if still serving and where, and any other details you would like to share about your loved one. Please keep this to the size of an index card.

⚠️ Important Notes

• Online Registration: Remains open until race day.
• Shirts: Race shirts are not guaranteed after May 5th, 2022.