Registration is Open for the Penguin Adventure Virtual Race to Benefit Penguin Conservation Programs

TAMPA, Fla. - Jan. 23, 2016 - PRLog -- Triumph Virtual Racing’s January-February virtual race, the Penguin Adventure, will benefit penguin conservation programs through Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. This event is nationwide and the participant can run, walk, or treadmill their chosen distance anytime and anywhere they would like. Registration is $28.00. Available event distances are 10 miles, 20 miles, or 50 miles to be completed over the two month event period. Every racer will get a personalized race e-bib after registration, as well as a custom 3.5” finisher’s medal after completion of the race (the finisher’s medal will be shipped after the participant posts their distance completion to Triumph Virtual Racing, Inc.’s Facebook page). Racers can choose to complete a free, additional challenge in order to be entered into the company’s Extra Mile of Fun contest. Details can be found on Triumph Virtual Racing’s website - a random winner will be chosen on February 29, 2016.

The race beneficiary is penguin conservation through Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. African penguin populations are in rapid decline: in the last 100 years, African penguins in the wild have lost 90% of their population (estimated at 1.5 million birds in 1910). In 2010, the USFWS reclassified African penguins from Threatened to Endangered. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo participates in nearly 100 AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs, cooperative breeding, and conservation programs to help ensure species survival.

To register as a runner or walker for this event, visit Triumph Virtual Racing, Inc.’s website at TriumphVirtualRacing.com. Registration takes less than a minute and participants can complete their race as soon as the following day.

About Triumph Virtual Racing, Inc.

Triumph Virtual Racing, Inc. is a start-up company located in Duluth, GA and dedicated to motivating, inspiring, and encouraging individuals and groups to get up and get moving through fun and convenient virtual races that support a different charity each month. To learn more about Triumph Virtual Racing, Inc. or to register for one of their virtual races for charity, visit the company website at http://www.triumphvirtualracing.com.

**About Penguin Conservation through Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo**

African penguin populations are in rapid decline: in the last 100 years, African penguins in the wild have lost 90% of their population (estimated at 1.5 million birds in 1910). The main causes of this huge decline are loss of suitable breeding habitat, increased predation, food shortages from over-fishing and oil spills, and global climate change. In 2010, the USFWS reclassified African penguins from Threatened to Endangered. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo participates in nearly 100 AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs, cooperative breeding, and conservation programs to help ensure species survival.

Additionally, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo supports the efforts of the internationally recognized Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). They rescue, rehabilitate, and release injured and orphaned penguins back to the coasts of South Africa. Their newest initiative includes a chick-bolstering program to counteract the loss of African penguins by supplementing wild colonies with locally hand-reared birds. To learn more, please visit www.lowryparkzoo.org.