Grease Worms top Buffalo Run fundraising
What started as a weekend road trip to Branson, Missouri, ended in victory for Team Grease Worms.
The Albany-based team of Robert Snyder, Craig Winters, Matt Birkla and Blake Estridge returned from the 2026 Buffalo Run Adventure Challenge after raising $270,665 for Camp Able, earning top fundraising honors among all participating teams and helping push the overall fundraiser past the $1 million mark for the first time.
“We were really shocked Saturday when they announced the winners,” Snyder said. “We thought we would be second or third again. For us to do that, hats off to everybody. It was just really cool.”
The Grease Worms finished ahead of the second-place B-290s, which raised $256,361, and third-place Volborghini, which collected $237,657. Last year, the Albany team raised $80,338 and finished third among all fundraising teams.
This year’s Buffalo Run generated a record $1,010,354 for Camp Able, the first time the fundraiser has surpassed the $1 million mark. The event raised $903,032 in 2025, $566,355 in 2024, $453,647 in 2023, $266,738 in 2022 and $105,174 during its inaugural run in 2021. Combined, the Buffalo Run has now generated more than $3.3 million for Camp Able since its founding.
The annual fundraiser benefits Camp Able, a nonprofit therapeutic riding center in Buffalo Gap that serves children and adults with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges.
While fundraising is the primary goal, the Buffalo Run is also known for its unique challenges and long hours on the road.
This year’s route took participants to Branson, Missouri, where teams completed challenges that included recreating the famous floating door scene from the movie Titanic at the Titanic Museum and performing a Dolly Parton lip-sync challenge. Other assignments sent teams to roadside attractions across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The Grease Worms left Buffalo Gap at 6 p.m. Thursday and arrived in Branson around 6:30 Friday morning after driving through the night. Along the way, they completed a variety of challenges and earned an award for Best Cooking Show Skit.
Before the trip even began, however, the team faced a challenge of its own.
Just hours before departure, mechanical trouble threatened to sideline the team’s 1965 Ford Country Sedan. Snyder said the car began sputtering, forcing the team to make an emergency stop in Abilene for repairs.
“We ended up putting some plugs and a fuel pump on it just a couple of hours before we took off,” Snyder said. “We got it going and had no problems the rest of the trip.”
Despite the last-minute repairs, the vintage station wagon completed the trip without any major issues.
Snyder credited the team’s success to the many supporters who contributed to this year’s fundraising effort.
“It takes all these generous people that supported us,” he said. “There’s people out there that really care and are giving, and they showed up.”
For Snyder, the fundraising total was the highlight of the weekend.
“It’s kind of a blessing to be a part of something like that,” he said. “It paid off in the end. We were real excited, had a good time and hopefully we can do it again next year.”
As the Buffalo Run continues to grow, so does its impact. This year’s event crossed the $1 million threshold for the first time, and with Team Grease Worms leading all fundraisers, Albany played a major role in another record-breaking year for Camp Able.
